MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices rose for an 11th consecutive week, following higher global benchmarks in Chicago and Paris, analysts said on Monday. Russian wheat with 12.5% protein loading from Black Sea ports for supply in the first half of October was $304 a tonne, free on board (FOB), at the end of last week, up $3 from the previous week, consultancy IKAR said in a note.

Sovecon, another consultancy, pegged wheat steady at $304.5 a tonne, while barley rose by $0.5 to $260.5 a tonne. Russian wheat exports are down 22% since the start of this season on July 1 due to a smaller crop and a higher export tax.

The tax, which Moscow has set on a weekly basis since June, will rise to $53.5 a tonne for Sept 29-Oct 5 from the current $50.9. The price index on which it is based remains lower than the actual FOB price.

Weather conditions are neutral for the winter grains sowing for the 2022 crop, Sovecon said, but the sowing is delayed compared with a year ago due to a slow pace in the Central region and earlier dry weather in the Volga region.

Farmers have already sown winter grains on 10.3 million hectares, down from 11 million hectares at Sept. 24, 2020, the agriculture ministry data showed.

"If the campaign does not speed up significantly in the Centre shortly, our earlier estimate of the decrease in winter crops area could be revised higher from 0.5-1.0 million hectares," Sovecon said.