IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Russian grain prices decline slowly - analysts

Reuters

MOSCOW, March 15 (Reuters) - Most Russian grain prices declined last week following the world trend, but the decline was slow as domestic processors kept buying grain after long January holidays, while stocks in grain-oriented regions fell. "Ordinary milling wheat with 1 percent bug damage was priced at $168 per tonne, FOB Novorossiisk, or $1-$1.5 cheaper than a week ago," the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said in a weekly note.

Barley prices, FOB Novorossiisk, declined by $2 to $133 per tonne with exports remaining very fragmented and activity at small Azov Sea ports low, it said. Exporters bid prices for fourth-grade (ordinary) wheat declined in Novorossiisk to 4,700-4,800 roubles ($160.5-$163.9) per tonne, including delivery (CPT), while at shallow water ports they were stable at 4,000-4,300 roubles, SovEcon analysts said.

SovEcon expects a further price decline in the coming weeks. Domestic ex-silo prices in the south of Russia were practically unchanged at $145 per tonne for third-grade milling wheat, $128 per tonne for fourth-grade wheat, $116 per tonne for feed wheat, $90 for feed barley, and $166 for maize, IKAR said.

SovEcon said that average Russian domestic prices for cereals declined by some 25-50 roubles per tonne, while maize was down 100 roubles at 4,900 roubles per tonne.

IKAR said sunseed prices rose to $423 per tonne from $420 on scarce supply. Sunseed prices rose by some 75 roubles to 12,450 roubles per tonne for the first time in the last eight weeks, SovEcon said. It said there were reports last week that Ukraine started sunseed shipments to Russia.

SovEcon believes that some processors may have agreed to buy the sunseeds at 12,000-12,250 roubles per tonne, including delivery (DDP) to the Central Black Soil zone.

Sunoil offer prices declined by 500 roubles per tonne to 26,325 roubles per tonne, SovEcon said. IKAR said the sunoil export price rose to $885 per tonne from $879. "Exports remain rather fragmented and sunseed purchase prices are predetermined by processors' expectations of forward sunoil prices," IKAR said. SovEcon believes that in the nearest future all vegetable oil prices will be under pressure of expected record high soybean crop in Latin America.

Sugar prices declined to $860 per tonne from $889 and to 25,400 roubles per tonne from 26,500, following a sharp decline in international prices, IKAR said. Traders continue to import sugar, stockpiling it at customs warehouses, and clearing it very slowly, IKAR said.

Russia's raw sugar import tariff is expected to fall to $50 per tonne in May from the current $140 per tonne.

14.04.10

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