LONDON/CANBERRA: Chicago wheat futures fell on Thursday weighed down by weak demand and falling export prices in Russia, while soybeans and corn also lost ground and were just above multi-year lows on the prospect of ample supply.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 1.2% at $5.88-1/4 a bushel by 1231 GMT. Prices fell 5.2% in January and aren’t far from a three-year low of $5.40 reached last September.

CBOT soybeans fell 1.1% to $12.09-1/4 a bushel and were close to Tuesday’s two-year low of $11.88, while corn slipped 1% to $4.43-1/2 a bushel and was near a three-year low of $4.37 hit twice during January.

“Grain prices are likely to remain under pressure, as markets globally and locally battle with a supply outlook for 2024 that is more plentiful than in past years,” said Stefan Vogel at Rabobank in Sydney. “For a significant 2024 price upside for grain, the world would need to see weather-related supply shortages arise.”

Falling wheat prices in Russia, which still has a large surplus to shift before this summer’s harvest, have kept the wheat market’s focus on Black Sea supplies. Russia’s agriculture minister, meanwhile, said the country would increase the area for the 2024 harvest by 300,000 hectares to 84.5 million hectares, bolstering expectations for another bumper crop.

Paris wheat futures also fell with March down 1.3% at 208 euros ($224.89) a metric ton after setting a contract low of 207.50 euros. Sluggish demand and competition from Russia have exerted downward pressure on EU wheat prices.

Low prices in Europe have led to widespread protests. Farmers threw eggs and stones at the European Parliament on Thursday, starting fires near the building and setting off fireworks amid protests to press a summit of European Union leaders to do more to help them with taxes and rising costs.

Data showing a fourth consecutive monthly decline in China’s manufacturing activity did nothing to ease concerns about Chinese demand for agricultural imports.