Russia's grain export prices increase on lower supply

Russian free-on-board (FOB) grain export prices rose last week on lower supply, while other prices were largely stable in most regions of the country, according to analysts.

FOB prices rose by US$2 to US$174 per tonne for wheat with protein content of 11.5% and to US$178 per tonne for wheat with protein content of 12.5 %, with bug damage of up to 1%, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said.

It said supply had been reduced because farmers were unwilling to sell at current prices. Feed barley prices also strengthened by US$3 in the last week.

Agricultural analysts SovEcon said CPT prices (including delivery to port) were stable last week at RUB4,500-4,800 (US$154.6-US$164.9) per tonne for fourth-grade wheat in Novorossiisk and 4,300-4,400 at shallow-water ports.

Domestic prices were stable in most regions last week, SovEcon said, though in the Central Black Earth Region prices rose slightly on exporters' demand.

IKAR said demand from importers for corn seed rose due to the need to resow some areas in the Central Black Earth and Volga regions, where crops had been killed by winter frosts.