Russian wheat export prices stable

Russian wheat export prices were stable last week after ten consecutive weeks of growth due to concerns over stormy weather in the main Black Sea ports and possible restrictions due to African Swine Fever, an agriculture consultancy said on Monday.
Black Sea prices for Russian wheat with 12.5 percent protein content for December supply were at $184 a tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis at the end of last week, unchanged from a week earlier, Russian agricultural consultancy IKAR said. SovEcon, another Moscow-based consultancy, quoted FOB wheat and maize (corn) prices unchanged at $182.5 a tonne and $172 per tonne, respectively.
Russia exported 16.8 million tonnes of grain between July 1 and November 30, up 0.7 percent year-on-year, including 13.2 million tonnes of wheat, the agriculture ministry said. Domestic prices for third-class wheat, excluding delivery costs, rose 50 roubles on the week to 10,725 roubles ($168) a tonne in the European part of Russia, according to SovEcon.
"Slow sales from agriculture producers remain the key factor for the growth," SovEcon said. "A revival in demand from domestic consumers, who start to replenish their stocks ahead of the New Year decline in market activity, will begin to support the market." Russia's southern Krasnodar region has imposed restrictions on the movement of live pigs in a bid to stop the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF).
It has so far ignored the state agriculture safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor which had proposed to limit the transportation of grain due to concerns that the fever could be transmitted via animal feed.
SovEcon said possible limits on grain transportation would make it more difficult to fulfil contracts as a significant part of them should be done with grain from the Krasnodar region, one of the country's biggest exporters. New-crop sunflower seed prices rose 225 roubles to 20,625 roubles a tonne, SovEcon said. Domestic sunflower oil prices fell 250 roubles to 49,000 roubles, while export oil prices were up $5 at $780 a tonne. IKAR's white sugar price index for southern Russia remained at $533.9 a tonne as of December 2.