Russian wheat prices were stable as a cold spell last week did not damage winter grain sowings and the weather was expected to be favourable for the crop in coming days, an analyst said on Monday. 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, unchanged from the previous week, Russian agricultural consultancy IKAR said.
SovEcon, another Moscow-based consultancy, quoted FOB wheat at $188 a tonne, up $2, and maize (corn) prices at $176 per tonne, up $1. IKAR quoted maize prices slightly down at $170. Russia exported 22.7 million tonnes of grain between July 1 and February 1, up 1.2 percent from a year ago, including 17.7 million tonnes of wheat, the agriculture ministry said.
The cold spell seen in the European part of Russia last week has not affected the condition of winter grains and weather conditions for them remain satisfactory, SovEcon said. The Agriculture Ministry said last week that winter grain sowings on an area of 650,000 hectares faced a threat of damage this winter, while the state weather forecaster Hydrometcentre sees the area under risk at 800,000 hectares.
This is below the average level of the previous years, and the ministry, the weather forecaster and SovEcon believe that the condition of winter grains is satisfactory in general. In 2016, when the winter was very favourable for the sowings, Russia lost 750,000 hectares. Domestic prices for third-class wheat, excluding delivery costs, rose 25 roubles to 10,650 roubles ($177) a tonne in the European part of Russia at the end of last week, according to SovEcon.