MOSCOW- Russian wheat export prices decreased slightly last week amid active shipments and an expansion of the export quota for Russian grain, although dry weather began to affect harvest forecasts.
The price of 12.5 percent protein Russian wheat scheduled for free-on-board (FOB) delivery in late May-early June was $208 a metric ton, down from $210 a metric ton the previous week.
The head of the IKAR agriculture consultancy, Dmitry Rylko, linked the price drop to the expectation of higher export supplies after the introduction of the additional grain quota.
Russia has introduced an additional quota of 5 million tons of wheat and meslin, rye, barley and maize to the quota of 24 million tons in force from Feb. 15 to June 30, 2024 for exports.
The Sovecon agriculture consultancy pegged the same class of wheat unchanged at $210 to $212 a ton FOB.
Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, saw its overseas supplies decline to 1.25 million tons of grain last week from 1.31 million tons the previous week. The exports included 1.07 million tons of wheat, down from 1.14 million tons a week earlier, Sovecon wrote, citing port data.
Sovecon estimates wheat exports in April at a record-high 4.6 million metric tons, compared with 4.4 million tons a year ago.
IKAR has raised its Russian 2023/2024 wheat export forecast to 53 million metric tons from 52 million tons against the backdrop of the high pace of exports.
