MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices rose for the second week in a row last week due to higher prices in Chicago and Paris, analysts said on Monday.

Russian wheat with 12.5% protein loading from Black Sea ports for supply in April was at $248 a tonne free on board (FOB) at the end of last week, up $1 from the previous week, IKAR agriculture consultancy said.

Sovecon, another consultancy, said wheat prices rose by $3 to $247 per tonne, while barley was steady at $233 a tonne.

Demand for Siberian wheat from Kazakhstan, which shares a free customs zone with Russia and is not subject to Moscow’s recently-raised grain export taxes, is up significantly, Sovecon said.

Weather conditions remain favourable for the upcoming crop in Russia and Ukraine in general, although some farmers in Russia’s south are concerned about rains slowing down their spring grain sowing and complicating input of fertilisers, Sovecon said.

In Russia’s central regions - Tambov, Lipetsk, and Voronezh - some farmers report a high percentage of their winter wheat sowings being in bad condition after winter, Sovecon said, adding that a large part of this area is likely to be replanted with spring wheat.