IKAR in Mass Media

Russia's wheat export prices

12 февраля 2014 года

Russia's wheat export prices were flat last week after a decline in January as a stronger local currency deterred interest from customers who pay in dollars for the grain, analysts said on Monday. The rouble firmed 1 percent against the dollar last week chiefly due to a revival of investor interest in emerging market currencies following a slump in January.

"The significance of the key market supporting factor - the rouble's depreciation - is starting to ease," SovEcon agriculture analysts said in a note. Prices for wheat with 12.5 percent protein content were flat at $279 a tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis in the Black Sea last week compared with a week earlier, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said.

Maize (corn) prices continued to rise in Russia's Southern regions supported partially by demand from buyers in Azerbaijan, SovEcon added. Maize export prices were up $6 at $217 a tonne on a FOB basis in the Black Sea last week, IKAR said. The volume of Russia's grain exports was very low last week due to stormy weather on the Black Sea and ice on the Azov Sea, IKAR added.

Shipping from the Black Sea revived at the end of the week when weather turned for the better, according to IKAR. However, exports were still running with a delay, a Moscow-based trader told Reuters. Meanwhile, the local market was supported by concerns related to the condition of winter grains plantings, SovEcon added. Plantings in Russia's Southern and Central regions were undamaged by frost during the second half of January, it said. However, the current warm spell together with strong winds will decrease the snow cover and, thus, will create risks of crop damage in case severe cold returns in February.

Sunflower seed prices rose slightly, adding 75 roubles to 10,700 roubles ($310) a tonne at the end of last week, SovEcon said. Export prices for sunflower oil rose $10 to $820-$830 a tonne on an FOB basis in the Black Sea. The white sugar price index in Russia's South remained flat at 24,800 roubles per tonne last week, IKAR said. It expects Russia's raw sugar imports to revive by the end of February before an expected increase in the March import tariff. Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus - whose customs policies are aligned under a three-nation customs union - pegged February raw sugar import tariff at $171 per tonne. In March, the tariff will rise to $203 per tonne, according to the Russian Sugar Producers' Union.

Source: Business Recorder | #grain | Comments: 0 Views: 72

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