MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices declined slightly last week while analysts raised October export forecasts.
Consultancy IKAR said that, by the end of last week, export prices for wheat with 12.5 percent protein content shipped from the Russian ports of Vysotsk and Ust-Luga were at USD267 a metric ton free on board (FOB) for delivery between late November and early December, down USD1 from the previous week.
Most shipments are being redirected to Baltic terminals because southern Russian ports are largely closed. Shipments via ports in the Azov-Black Sea basin came to a virtual standstill from mid-August owing to attacks on vessels and damage to terminals as Ukraine and Russia attack each other’s infrastructure.
About 65 percent of Russian wheat shipments in October will be handled by Baltic ports. Exports could total 3 million tons, compared with 2.9 million tons in September, according to Rusagrotrans.
IKAR has revised its forecast for October’s wheat exports to 2.6 million to 2.9 million tons, from last week’s estimate of up to 3 million tons.
Sovecon has raised its forecast for wheat exports in October to 2.8 million tons, given the current high pace of shipments, up from the 2.5 million tons projected a week earlier.