MOSCOW: Russian export prices for the new wheat crop, due to be harvested over the summer months of June to August, rose last week as the market anticipated dry weather would mean lower volumes in part of Russia's south, analysts said on Monday.

Russia's southern Stavropol region, one of country's main grain producing areas, may see its 2020, crop fall by 40pc compared with 2019, Interfax news agency said last week, citing a regional agriculture ministry.

Russian wheat with 12.5pc protein loaded from Black Sea ports and for delivery in July was at $204.5 a tonne free on board (FOB) at the end of last week, up $2.5 from a week earlier, SovEcon consultancy said in a note.

Another consultancy IKAR pegged new crop wheat for delivery in July-August at $206 a tonne, up $6.

Prices for the new barley crop were steady at $171 a tonne, SovEcon said.

Russian exports continued to slow last week, SovEcon said. The country exported 118,000 tonnes of wheat compared to 146,000 the previous week.

Russia exported 35.4 million tonnes of grain between July 1 last year and June 4, down 14pc from the year-earlier period, SovEcon said. Of this, wheat exports accounted for 30.3 million tonnes.

The agriculture ministry has sold 1.44 million tonnes of grain from its stockpile since sales began in April.