January 19, 2010

Russian grain export prices fall on New Year

After the New Year holidays, Russian grain export prices fell last week while domestic prices were little changed from the end of 2009 with trade activity remaining low.

"The first domestic export price quotations after a long winter holiday were like a cool shower for domestic traders," the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said.

Ordinary milling wheat prices have declined to US$186-188 per tonne from US$192 for the cereal with up to 1% bug damage and to US$180-183 from US$185-187 for grain with bug damage of between 1% and 2%, both FOB Novorossiisk.

SovEcon agricultural analysts gave an even wider range of prices for ordinary milling wheat with protein content of 11.5% at Novorossiisk US$182-190 per tonne.

Prices at shallow Azov Seaports have also declined: feed wheat to US$140 per tonne from US$143-145, ordinary milling wheat to US$160 per tonne from US$165, and high quality milling wheat with 14.5% protein content to US$175 per tonne from US$178 per tonne, it said.

SovEcon said fourth-grade milling wheat prices remained unchanged last week at RUB5,000 (US$168.9) per tonne, CPT (including delivery to) Novorossiisk.

It said only corn prices rose notably by RUB150 per tonne to RUB4,700 in North Caucasus due to demand from starch and starch syrup producers.

SovEcon believes domestic prices may decline as they are higher than export prices, while the ruble is rising against the dollar compensating last year's losses.