Russian wheat prices rose for a third week due to demand from Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, a stable rouble and farmers holding on to their goods in the expectation of further price growth, analysts said on Monday.
Egypt's state buyer GASC bought 410,000 tonnes of Russian wheat on January 26. Egypt is the largest importer of Russian wheat. Black Sea prices for Russian wheat with 12.5 percent protein content for February supply were $186 per tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis at the end of last week, up $1 from the previous week, Russian agricultural consultancy IKAR said.
SovEcon, another Moscow-based consultancy, quoted FOB wheat at $186 a tonne, up $2.5, and maize (corn) prices unchanged at $175 per tonne. Russia exported 22.1 million tonnes of grain between July 1 and January 25, up 0.7 percent from a year ago, including 17.2 million tonnes of wheat, the agriculture ministry said. As for the 2017 crop, IKAR said on January 27 that a cold spell expected in parts of Russia's southern regions this week poses risks to winter wheat sowings in areas that are not protected by a covering of snow.
The cold spell is expected in parts of the Rostov, Stavropol and Krasnodar regions, the main Russian area for wheat production and exports, SovEcon said. "It is too early to talk about any damage but it could happen if this weather persists for several weeks and/or the temperature falls further," SovEcon said. Domestic prices for third-class wheat, excluding delivery costs, fell 25 roubles to 10,625 roubles ($177) a tonne in the European part of Russia at the end of last week, according to SovEcon.