IKAR in Mass Media

Russian grain prices little changed on week

14 апреля 2010 года

MOSCOW, April 5 (Reuters) - Average Russian grain export and domestic prices were largely unchanged last week, with some declining and rising a little with no obvious overall trend, analysts said on Monday.

"The export market may be close to stability," SovEcon agricultural analysts said in a weekly note.

"But we cannot state the same for the domestic market due to a rise in logistic expenses, a stronger rouble and the necessity to reach parity with export market. The only bullish factor is the relatively low stocks in the Central Black Soil Region and the North Caucasus."

SovEcon said some buyers lowered CPT prices (including delivery) in Novorossisk to 4,300-4,700 roubles ($146-$159.6) per tonne from 4,600-4,700 roubles a week before.

But some other traders in the North Caucasus and the Central Black Soil Region were reported to have signed big deals at prices above the existing level.

The Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said in its weekly note CPT prices rose as exporters continued to experience difficulties in finding wheat at current prices.

Last week traders and analysts said producers were trying to sell grain at high prices to exporters that had urgent contracts to execute.

SovEcon said grains prices in most regions fell slightly, but prices in the European part of the country for fourth-grade (ordinary) wheat offer prices rose by 25 roubles to 3,625 roubles per tonne.

Wheat with 11.5 percent protein and bug damage below 1 percent remained unchanged at around $171 per tonne FOB Novorossisk, with higher damage at $165-$166 per tonne, IKAR said.

It said March exports were preliminarily estimated to have declined substantially from March 2009 to 1.7 million tonnes from 2.16 million.

Therefore total exports from the start of the 2009/10 crop year on July 1 are preliminarly estimated at 15.87 million tonnes, down from 16.72 million a year ago. Russian sunseed and sunoil prices kept declining following the international trend, analysts said.

White sugar prices rose to $849 per tonne from $775 and from 25,000 roubles to 23,000 ex-mill in Krasnodar, as the market was discussing a possibility that an import tariff could be cut by less than initially expected, IKAR said.

The future price depends on the still pending customs tariff decision, which may cut its rate in May to either $50 or to $120 per tonne from the current $140.

The new tariff calculation scheme has to be endorsed by Russia's customs union partners -- Kazakhstan and Belarus. The union's Commission is to discuss the tariff on April 16.

Source: Reuters | #grain | Comments: 0 Views: 44

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