IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Russia's Grain Exports Fall 18% as Wheat Takes Smaller Share

Bloomberg

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Russia's grain exports have dropped 18 percent this season, with wheat taking a smaller share.

Shipments fell to 11.8 million metric tons since July 1 through Nov. 28, from 14.4 million tons a year earlier, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement today. Exports Nov. 1 to Nov. 28 were 1.44 million, with 866,000 tons of wheat, or 60 percent of the total.

Wheat shipments have declined as Russia's 2012-13 crop is set to be the smallest in nine years, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Wheat accounted for 77 percent of total exports in September, Agriculutre Ministry data show.

"Wheat share in grain exports is declining because we don't have much of exportable wheat," said Oleg Sukhanov, grain analyst at the Moscow-based Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, by phone today. "Wheat stocks are record low in main exporting areas, which are Southern and North-Caucasus federal districts that suffered drought the most this year."

Russia had 5.7 million tons of grain stockpiles in the Southern federal district as of Nov. 1, down 37 percent from a year earlier, and 2.1 million tons in the North Caucasus federal district, down 50 percent, state statistics data show. The two districts accounted for about 35 percent of Russia's total crop last year, according to the state statistics data.

Wheat futures have rallied 34 percent in Chicago this year after drought in the U.S. and Russia damaged crops.

03.12.12

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