IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Russian wheat up with stronger rouble, issues with logistics

Reuters

* Prices for new crop steady at $198/t - IKAR
* Weather remains dry for new crop in Russia's south

MOSCOW, April 6 (Reuters) - Russian wheat export prices rose last week due to a strengthening of the rouble against the dollar and concerns about transportation in the coronavirus crisis, analysts said on Monday.

Russian wheat with 12.5% protein content loaded from Black Sea ports and for the nearest delivery was up $5 to $222 a tonne free on board (FOB) at the end of last week, SovEcon said. Barley was unchanged at $177 a tonne.

IKAR, another Moscow agriculture consultancy, pegged wheat at $224 a tonne, up $2. Prices for the new crop, which is due to arrive this summer, and delivery in late July remained at $198 a tonne.

"Russian wheat is starting to look too expensive compared to other regions. There is a good chance that its price is close to a peak," SovEcon said in a note.

The Russian rouble is up with higher oil prices. Trucks with up to 4,500 tonnes of Russian grain were stuck at the entry to Russia's main export port of Novorossiisk on the Black Sea due to a regime set up by regional officials amid the coronavirus outbreak, Interfax news agency reported on Friday.

The issue has been largely resolved since then, traders told Reuters on Monday. "It does not look like a big issue, especially taking into account that Novorossiisk terminals mainly deal with grain deliveries by rail where there are no delays," SovEcon said.

Russia exported 31.3 million tonnes of grain between the July 1 start of the 2019/20 season and April 2, down 16% from a year earlier, SovEcon said, citing customs data.

Of this, wheat exports accounted for 26.9 million tonnes. The weather was dry in the European part of Russia for grain sowings last week, except parts of the southern Krasnodar and Stavropol regions, which saw some rain, SovEcon said.

Some rains are expected in the European part of Russia this week, but not in its south, it said, adding that some farmers in the southern regions are starting to worry about the potential lack of moisture.

Other Russian data provided by SovEcon and IKAR: Product: Price at the end Change from week of last week: earlier - Domestic 3rd 13,950 rbls/t +425 rbls class wheat, ($183) European part of Russia, excludes delivery (SovEcon) - Sunflower seeds 20,750 rbls/t +550 rbls (SovEcon) - Domestic 48,175 rbls/t +1,000 rbls sunflower oil (SovEcon) - export sunflower $650/t +$20 oil (SovEcon) - white sugar, $328.1/t +$0.3 Russia's south (IKAR)

($1 = 76.1750 roubles)

07.04.20

All viewing: 166
Discuss