November 25, 2011

Russian grain export may exceed 24 million tonnes

Russia's grain export will probably surpass 24 million tonnes in the current season, according to the Grain Union.

The estimate assumes a "moderately optimistic scenario," Alexander Korbut, the group's vice president, said. Shipments are unlikely to top 25 million tonnes because world grain prices are stagnating and Ukraine and Kazakhstan are competing for exports, he said.

"The figure will be somewhere between these two figures," Korbut said. "Ukraine started to win tenders, so life starts to change a bit."

Prospects for grain exports from Russia will be clearer in March, when more information will be available on crop conditions in the country as well as Ukraine and US, according to Korbut. Winter grains planted in southern Russia "are not in a very good shape," he said.

Russia exported 13.7 million tonnes of grain as of November 23 (Wed) in the marketing year begun July 1, according to Agriculture Ministry data. Shipments may reach 2.3 million to 2.4 million tonnes this month and come to about two million tonnes in December, Korbut said.