Russian wheat rises amid Black Sea export limit

Russian wheat export prices rose last week due to limits on shipments imposed by Romania, Ukraine and Moscow itself, and as the rouble strengthened against the dollar, analysts said on Monday.

Romania last week banned grain exports to non-European Union destinations until mid-May to cover its domestic needs amid the new coronavirus outbreak. Ukraine agreed with traders a maximum amount of wheat for export, while Russia imposed a grain export quota for April-June.

Russian wheat with 12.5% protein content loaded from Black Sea ports and for the nearest delivery was up $3 to $225 a tonne free on board (FOB) at the end of last week, SovEcon said. Barley was unchanged at $177 a tonne.

IKAR, another Moscow agriculture consultancy, pegged wheat at $227 a tonne, up $3. Prices for the new crop, which is due to arrive this summer, and delivery in late July rose by $4 to $202 a tonne.

Dry spring weather with little rain expected in the next two weeks is also starting to raise concerns about this year’s grain harvest among Russian farmers and analysts. The Russian rouble is up in line with higher oil prices.

Russia exported 32.1 million tonnes of grain between the July 1 start of the 2019/20 season and April 9, down 15% from a year earlier, SovEcon said, citing customs data. Of this, wheat exports accounted for 27.6 million tonnes.

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