MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices rose for the seventh consecutive week last week, tracking price increases in Chicago and Paris, the IKAR agriculture consultancy said on Monday.

Russian wheat with 12.5% protein loading from Black Sea ports for supply in late September or early October was $299 a tonne free on board (FOB) at the end of last week, up $4 from the previous week, IKAR said in a note.

“Russian wheat needs to move lower to compete with other origins,” another consultancy, Sovecon, said. It pegged wheat and barley prices down by $1 to $298 per tonne and $262 per tonne, respectively.

Russian wheat exports sped up last week as the state export tax is set to rise sharply from Sept. 1, Sovecon said.

It cut its forecast for Russia’s 2021/22 wheat exports last week to the lowest in five years due to a smaller crop and competition with Ukraine and other suppliers.

Russian domestic wheat prices fell last week, though, as many consumers and exporters started to lower bids and as some of them expect the export tax to rise further, Sovecon added.

Russia is changing its wheat export tax every week since June.