Russian wheat export prices were little changed last week ahead of a government decision on whether to reduce a floating export tax introduced on July 1, analysts said on Monday. Industry players widely expect the government to reduce the tax, which stops traders from fully capitalising on Russia's weaker rouble. Agriculture consultancy IKAR put Black Sea forward prices for Russian wheat with 12.5 percent protein content at $180 per tonne free-on-board (FOB) at the end of last week, down $1 from a week earlier.
Another Moscow-based consultancy, SovEcon, had FOB prices up $1 at $181 per tonne. The current duty formula is set at 50 percent of the customs price minus 5,500 roubles ($81) per tonne but not less than 50 roubles per tonne. The Agriculture Ministry has proposed raising the limit from 5,500 to 6,500 roubles, Vedomosti newspaper reported on Friday, a move later confirmed by Reuters.
Russia exported 6.8 million tonnes of grain, including 5.3 million tonnes of wheat, between July 1 and September 9, official customs data showed, down 22.5 percent from a year earlier. Domestic prices for third-class wheat fell 100 roubles from a week earlier to 10,000 roubles ($147) per tonne in the European part of Russia on an ex-works basis, SovEcon said.
SovEcon said average prices for sunflower seeds were up 1,500 roubles to 25,000 roubles per tonne. Domestic sunflower oil prices fell 500 roubles to 56,000 roubles per tonne while export prices rose $10 to $720-$730 per tonne. IKAR's white sugar price index for southern Russia was at $596 per tonne, down $20 from a week earlier.