The decline on the Russian grain market has slowed, possibly due to the expiry from May 1 of the export tariff on wheat and rye and to the approaching end of grain intervention sales, traders said.
They said in the second half of May prices, above all of food wheat, may stabilise in the second half of May and may start rising again in a longer term.
Since the start of the tenders government intervention stocks have shrunk to 302,900 tones of grain including 95,300 tonnes of third class wheat, 116,500 tonnes of fourth class wheat and 91,200 tonnes of milling rye.
Stocks may be exhausted by the end of May if the current pace of sales continues.
Food wheat prices declined less rapidly than in the previous week. Third class wheat was down 50-100 roubles per tonne.
Fourth class wheat and rye were generally stable, but a 50-100 rouble decline was registered in some regions.