Russian wheat prices down due to new crop

19 Aug, 2020

MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices fell last week for the third week in a row, under pressure from the new crop and signs it could be larger than previously assumed, analysts said on Monday.

Russian wheat with 12.5% protein loading from Black Sea ports was at $201 a tonne free on board (FOB) for supply in August-September at the end of last week, down $4 from the week before, agriculture consultancy IKAR said in a note.

Sovecon, another Moscow consultancy, pegged wheat at $200 per tonne, down $5. Barley fell by $1 to $182 a tonne.

IKAR and Sovecon have been raising their estimates for Russia's 2020 wheat crop in the last couple of weeks, but both remain cautious on its prospects in the Urals and Siberia, which were hit by dry weather.

Corn has also been hit in Russia's south, which accounts for 50% of the country's sowing area, SovEcon said. The main grain producing regions in the European part of Russia are expected to be mostly dry this week.

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