September 28, 2010

Russian grain prices continue to rise

Russia's grain prices rose further last week despite an export ban, analysts said on Monday (Sep 27).

Third-grade milling wheat in southern Russia rose to US$182 per tonne from US$175; fourth-grade to US$175 from US$167; and feed wheat to US$172 from US$165, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said.

Corn prices increased to US$215 per tonne from US$201 in southern Russia. SovEcon agricultural analysts said current high prices may raise imports of corn from Ukraine.

"One of the factors, which have influenced price strengthening is the recent government decision to subsidise grain shipments by rail," said IKAR.

"The benefits of RUB300-RUB500 (US$9.68-US$16.13) per tonne are mostly absorbed by sellers, not buyers of grain. We expect the upward trend to stay in the nearest future," said IKAR.