MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices rose last week amid geopolitical tensions, with the pace of shipments still high, and analysts on Monday raised their forecasts for Russian exports in the new season.

According to the IKAR agriculture consultancy, the price of 12.5%-protein Russian wheat scheduled for free-on-board (FOB) delivery at the beginning of September was $248 per metric ton last week, up from $241 a week earlier.

IKAR head Dmitry Rylko said geopolitical risks, problems with the quality of wheat from the northern part of the EU wheat belt as well as problems with the quality of Russian grain were all fuelling price growth.

The Russia-focused agricultural consultancy Sovecon estimates total Russian wheat exports in July at 4.4 million metric tons, compared to 2.5 million tons in July 2022 and a historic average of 2.8 million tons for the month of July. Russian wheat exports have been at record highs in recent months due to a bumper 2022 crop and large stocks.

August shipments are expected to be above 5.0 million tons, Sovecon said in its note.