Russian grain prices fall despite winning tenders

Most Russian grain prices, including wheat, fell last week despite some winning tenders though prices at shallow water ports rose on export demand, analysts said. Despite winning Egyptian and Jordanian tenders, the FOB price of 11.5 percent protein wheat is estimated to have declined to $233-$235 from $240 per tonne at deep sea ports, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said.
Wheat with 12.5 percent protein content was estimated at $245 per tonne, down from $250 a week before, it said in a weekly note on Monday. "There was no demand for wheat at deep water ports, as exporters assumed a "wait end see" position," SovEcon agricultural analysts said in their note.
"After the victory at the Egyptian tender, we expect exporters to set bid prices at deep water ports shortly." Prices at shallow water ports strengthened last week as exporters were fulfilling contracts, IKAR said. Fourth-grade milling wheat price at shallow water ports rose to 6,000 roubles ($214.1) per tonne from 5,500, SovEcon said.
It said average EXW offer prices in the European Russia declined by 275 roubles to 5,975 roubles per tonne for third-grade milling wheat and by 425 roubles to 5,575 roubles for fourth-grade wheat. Feed barley prices declined by just 50 roubles on average to 5,050 roubles per tonne, while in North Caucasus new crop in-silo barley prices rose by 200-300 roubles to 4,500-4,700 roubles.
In shallow water ports traders offered 5,400-5,500 roubles for a tonne of barley including delivery, SovEcon said. "We estimate FOB shallow water feed barley price at $215," IKAR said. IKAR has recently raised its grain output forecast for this year to 87 million tonnes, including 56 million tonnes of wheat, from a previous estimate of 85-86 million, it said.