August 9, 2013

Russia's wheat export prices fell last week due to a lack of demand from traditional clients in North Africa.

Egypt, the largest importer of Russia's wheat and the world's top wheat buyer, bought 240,000 tonnes last week from one of Russia's main competitors, Ukraine, at US$252.34/ tonne.

As of this week, Russia had reportedly harvested 31 million tonnes of wheat from 40% of its planted area. And, following last year's drought, the world's leading wheat exporter hopes to increase its crop to at least 50 million tonnes by the end of the season.

According to the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR), Russian wheat export prices were down last week by US$3 to US$251/ tonne in the Black Sea, the main export hub in the country. IKAR added that Russia exported approximately 2.4 million tonnes of grain in July, including about 1.9 million tonnes of wheat. However, export numbers are estimated to increase in August and September as progress with the harvesting campaign increases supply.

Russia's wheat prices are in line with European wheat futures, which fell to contract lows on Monday as harvest progress added to pressure from weak US prices.

Meanwhile, Russian rapeseed prices fell from RUB11,000-RUB11,500/ tonne US$334.97-IS$350.19 /tonne) to RUB10,400-RUB10,800/tonne (US$320-US$330/tonne) in the North Caucasus Region, SovEcon reported.