IKAR: Russian wheat up slightly, exports accelerate

MOSCOW, July 18 (Reuters) - Russian wheat export prices rose slightly last week, helped by a stronger rouble, the IKAR agriculture consultancy said on Monday, adding that exports quickened with arrival of the new crop.

The United States last week issued clarification reassuring banks, shippers and insurance companies that transactions with Russian food and fertiliser exports would not breach Washington's sanctions on Moscow.

Traders consider this clarification "with very careful optimism", IKAR said in a note. It currently expects the country to export more than 2 million tonnes of wheat this month.

Russian prices for wheat with 12.5% protein content and for supply from Black Sea ports rose by $2 to $360 a tonne free on board (FOB) at the end of last week, IKAR said.

Russia exported 500,000 tonnes of grain last week, compared with 340,000 tonnes the previous week, said fellow consultancy Sovecon, citing port data. Wheat prices for imminent supply were at $355-360 a tonne, it added.

 Product:                Price at the end     Change from week
                            of last week:              earlier
 - Domestic 3rd class       13,275 rbls/t            -300 rbls
 wheat, European part           ($234.13)  
 of Russia, excludes                       
 delivery (Sovecon)                        
 - Sunflower seeds          26,250 rbls/t            +300 rbls
 (Sovecon)                                 
 - Domestic sunflower       74,000 rbls/t            unchanged
 oil (Sovecon)                             
 - Domestic soybeans        34,925 rbls/t            -200 rbls
 (Sovecon)                                 
 - Export sunflower              $1,430/t                -$110
 oil (Sovecon)                             
 - Export sunflower              $1,310/t                 -$60
 oil (IKAR)                                
 - White sugar,                $1,089.9/t               +$76.3
 Russia's south                            
 (IKAR)                                    
    The harvesting data provided by Sovecon as of July 14*:
                      All grains:          Wheat        Barley
 Crop, mln tonnes            19.9           15.5           3.5
 Crop, as of same            14.9           10.6           2.7
 date in 2021                                     
 Yield,                       4.1            4.2           4.6
 tonnes/hectare                                   
 Yield, as of same            3.4            3.4           3.9
 date in 2021                                     
 Harvested area,              4.9            3.7           0.8
 mln hectares                                     
 Harvested area, as           4.3            3.1           0.7
 of same date in                                  
 2021                                             
                                                  
    * Russia's agriculture ministry has yet to publish
harvesting data for the current season.
($1 = 56.7000 roubles)