Monday, 02 November 2015 20:03
MOSCOW: Russia’s wheat export prices fell last week after it lost a tender to supply Egypt’s state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), to Romanian, Polish and French competition, analysts said on Monday.
Black Sea prices for Russian wheat with 12.5 percent protein content were down $ 1 at $ 197 per tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis at the end of last week from a week earlier, agriculture consultancy IKAR said in a note.
In the latest tender, GASC bought 240,000 tonnes of wheat at $ 195.74-$ 199.99 per tonne on a FOB basis; the lowest offer of Russian wheat was made at $ 204.5 a tonne.
On the supply side, Russia’s Agriculture Ministry has upgraded its forecast for the 2015 grain crop by 2 million tonnes to 102 million tonnes by clean weight on Monday.
Farmers have already harvested 105.8 million tonnes of grain before drying and cleaning, from 98 percent of the total area, the ministry said in a note.
Winter grains for next year’s crop have been sown on 15.7 million hectares, or 92 percent of the previously planned area, down from 16.4 million hectares a year ago, the ministry’s data showed. According to SovEcon, a Moscow-based consultancy, the condition of winter grain in Russia’s southern regions, which were hit by dry weather in September-October, is worse than last year.
Domestic prices for third-class wheat added 50 roubles to 10,600 roubles ($ 166) per tonne in the European part of Russia, on an ex-works basis, SovEcon said.
Domestic prices were supported by demand from exporters, who were searching for volumes for their previously agreed contracts, and also by the restart of the state stock replenishing programme.
The government bought 170,000 tonnes of grain for its stocks on the domestic market last week, but its purchases are expected to slow down in the coming weeks, according to SovEcon.
SovEcon also said average prices for sunflower seeds were down 500 roubles at 23,075 roubles per tonne. Domestic sunflower oil prices were down 150 roubles to 49,850 roubles per tonne, while export prices were down $ 10 to $ 790 per tonne.
IKAR’s white sugar price index for southern Russia was at $ 608 per tonne, down $ 9 from a week earlier.
