MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices fell last week after two weeks of growth amid stable wheat prices in Chicago, a global benchmark for this market, analysts said on Monday.

Russian wheat with 12.5% protein loading from Black Sea ports and for supply in December was at $252 a tonne free on board (FOB) at the end of last week, down $2 from the previous week, the IKAR agriculture consultancy said in a note. Sovecon, another agriculture consultancy in Moscow, said wheat fell by $1 to $253, while barley remained at $215 a tonne.

Russian livestock producers sent a letter to the government last week saying that a grain export quota, proposed by the agriculture ministry at 15 million tonnes for Feb. 15-June 30, could stabilise the domestic wheat market but would not be enough to drive the prices down.

The letter proposed reintroducing an export tax for wheat, which is currently at a zero level, Sovecon said. The government or the agriculture ministry are yet to reply on it.-Reuters