IKAR: Russian wheat down with Paris prices, weak domestic demand

MOSCOW, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Russian wheat prices fell last week following a decline in wheat in Paris and amid weak domestic demand from exporters, analysts said on Monday, adding that storms complicate sea shipping.

Prices for Russian wheat with 12.5% protein content and for supply from Black Sea ports in late December to early January were at $312 a tonne free on board (FOB) on Friday evening, down $2 from a week earlier, the IKAR agriculture consultancy said in a note.

Russian grain exports rose to 840,000 tonnes last week from 550,000 tonnes in previous week, another consultancy Sovecon said, citing port data.

Sovecon downgraded its estimate of Russia's December grain exports due to low water level and ice in the Azov Sea and storms in the Black Sea.

Wheat prices for immediate delivery fell to $308-312 per tonne from $312-316 a week ago, it added.

Russia's agriculture ministry has already bought 2.75 million tonnes of grain from the domestic market for the state stockpile in the current July-June season, Sovecon added.

Dry weather is expected in Russia's southern region, a major winter grain producer, this week, Sovecon said. According to it, the weather setup in the south remains far from ideal due to only 40-60% of normal precipitation in the past 30 days.

 Product:                Price at the end     Change from week
                            of last week:              earlier
             -                     12,425                 -175
 Domestic 3rd class                rbls/t                 rbls
 wheat, European part                                         
 of Russia, excludes                       
 delivery (Sovecon)                        
                                           
             -                     25,075                 +600
 Sunflower seeds                   rbls/t                 rbls
 (Sovecon)                                                    
                                           
             -                     75,175               +1,000
 Domestic sunflower                rbls/t                 rbls
 oil (Sovecon)                                                
                                           
             -                     31,550                     
 Domestic soybeans                 rbls/t            unchanged
 (Sovecon)                                                    
                                           
             - Export                                         
 sunflower oil                   $1,140/t            unchanged
 (Sovecon)                                                    
                                           
             - Export                                         
 sunflower oil (IKAR)            $1,100/t            unchanged
                                                              
             - White                                    +$16.1
 sugar, Russia's                 $746.5/t                     
 south (IKAR)

                    All grains:                                
                                  Wheat  Barley        Sunseeds
                                                 Corn          
                                                               
                                                       
             Crop,                                             
 mln tonnes               159.0                            15.3
                                  105.8    24.6                
                                                 13.4          
                                                       
                                                       
             Crop,                                             
 as of same date          126.9                            15.8
 in 2021                           79.1    19.0                
                                                 16.1          
                                                       
                                                       
                                                               
 Yield,                    3.43                            1.80
 tonnes/hectare                    3.62    3.10                
                                                 5.98          
                                                       
                                                       
                                                               
 Yield, as of same         2.79                            1.65
 date in 2021                      2.84    2.41                
                                                 5.58          
                                                       
                                                       
                                                               
 Harvested area,           46.4                             8.5
 mln hectares                      29.3     7.9                
                                                  2.2          
                                                       
                                                       
                                                               
 Harvested area,           45.4                             9.6
 as of same date                   27.8     7.9                
 in 2021                                          2.9

* Russia's agriculture ministry has yet to publish detailed harvesting data for the current season.

** The harvesting data is by bunker weight, i.e. before drying and cleaning of the crop.