KYIV: Ukrainian soft milling wheat export prices added $5 a tonne over the past week, supported by worries about spring crops conditions after severe frosts across the Black Sea region, APK-Inform agriculture consultancy said on Monday.

Night temperature fell to minus 25 degrees Celsius (-13 Fahrenheit) in most Ukrainian regions in mid-February, but weather forecasters have said a significant snow layer protected the crops.

Asking prices for Ukrainian-origin 12.5% protein wheat stood at $283 to $288 per tonne FOB Black Sea, the consultancy said in a report.

Lower quality 11.5% wheat was quoted between $281 and $287 per tonne, it said. APK-Inform said export prices for Ukrainian corn added $2 a tonne to $260-$267 while barley prices have risen by $2-$3 a tonne to $256-$263 FOB Black Sea.

Ukraine, a major global grain exporter, has sold abroad 31.8 million tonnes of grain so far in the 2020/21 July-June season, 8.3 million tonnes less than in the same period a season earlier.

The volume includes 13.6 million tonnes of wheat, 3.96 million tonnes of barley and 13.7 million tonnes of corn.

Ukraine sold about 57 million tonnes of grain to foreign buyers in the 2019/20 season while the government has said exports could decline to 45.4 million tonnes in 2020/21 because of a weaker harvest.