MOSCOW: Russian wheat prices fell last week following a weaker rouble currency and high domestic supply amid a record crop, analysts said on Monday, adding that the pace of sea shipping had picked up after storms.

Prices for Russian wheat with 12.5% protein content and for supply from Black Sea ports in January were at $307 a tonne free on board (FOB) on Friday evening, down $5 from a week earlier, the IKAR agriculture consultancy said in a note.

Russian grain exports rose to 1.1 million tonnes last week from 840,000 tonnes in previous week as the weather in the Black Sea improved after storms, another consultancy Sovecon said, citing port data.

Wheat prices for immediate delivery fell by $1 to $307-311 per tonne, it added.

Russia’s agriculture ministry has already bought 3.0 million tonnes of grain from the domestic market for the state stockpile in the current July-June season, Sovecon added.

Rains arrived to part of Russia’s southern region, a major winter grain producer, last week and more precipitation is expected this week, Sovecon said, signalling improving conditions for the sowings after dry weather.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022