The demand is high because some purchases were delayed by stormy weather in ports in February, Dmitry Rylko, the head of IKAR, said. He expects a gradual decline in prices after demand eases due to the weaker rouble currency. SovEcon, another Moscow-based consultancy, quoted FOB wheat at $192 a tonne at the end of last week, down $0.5 from a week earlier. It said some traders had run into a shortage of supplies for loading in shallow-water ports.
Russia exported 25.6 million tonnes of grain between July 1 and March 8, down 1.3 percent from a year earlier, including 19.8 million tonnes of wheat, the agriculture ministry said. Domestic grain prices continue to fall gradually on the back of seasonally high supply as farmers need to raise funds for the spring grain sowing, SovEcon said.
Copyright Reuters, 2017