MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices continued to rise steeply last week amid worsening crop harvest forecasts across countries in Europe and the Black Sea region, analysts said on Monday.
Black Sea prices for Russian wheat with 12.5 percent protein content were $234 per tonne on a free on board basis at the end of last week, up from $223 a week earlier, Russian agricultural consultancy IKAR said in a note.
SovEcon, another Moscow-based agriculture consultancy, said prices for the same class of wheat had risen $15 to $231.5 on a free on board basis in deep-water ports.
"The market is continuing to grow on news of falling crops in the EU and problems with the quality of the new harvest in Russia," Dmitry Rylko, IKAR's head, said.
SovEcon also said the sharp rise in prices on the global market had also been sparked by rumours of export restrictions by countries in the Black Sea basin.
As of Aug. 1, Russia had exported 4.73 million tonnes of grain since the start of the 2018/19 season on July 1, including 3.8 million tonnes of wheat, the agriculture ministry said.
Barley exports were at 641,000 tonnes, five percent higher than last year, and maize (corn) was at 257,000 tonnes, which was 36 percent higher than last year.
SovEcon saw July grain exports for the 2018/2019 season at 44.8 million tonnes, including 35 million tonnes of wheat.
Domestic prices for third-class wheat were up 375 roubles to 9,675 roubles ($151.99) a tonne, and up 300 roubles to 9,500 roubles for fourth-class wheat in the European part of Russia on an ex-works basis, according to SovEcon.
Sunflower seed prices rose 200 roubles to 22,075 roubles per tonne, and domestic sunflower oil prices increased 325 roubles per tonne to 46,500 roubles, SovEcon said. Export oil prices remained at $710 per tonne.
IKAR's white sugar price index for southern Russia was at$506.81 a tonne as of Aug. 3, up from $476.57 a week earlier.
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