No sign of slowdown as Russian wheat sales continue to surge ahead

Russian wheat sales continue to grow at pace, as exporters sold 1.12 million mt of wheat in the week to December 3, data from the Ministry of Agriculture showed Monday.

The fourth-highest week of the marketing year, Russian wheat exports show no sign of slowing down despite fears over bottlenecking and elevated freight rates. Total wheat sales since July 1 now stand at 16.94 million mt, 28.2% higher than at the same stage last year.

The world’s biggest wheat exporter, Russia has surged ahead of its competitors this year, eating up market share after growing 140 million mt of grains – its biggest crop on record.

While wheat has dominated, other grains have had more mixed fortunes. Barley exports came to 168,000 mt, taking total sales for the marketing year to 3 million mt – almost twice the volume seen at the same stage last year. Corn exports totalled 159,000 mt, taking total sales to 1.75 million mt, a 4.4% decrease on the 2016/17 market year.

Total grain sales for the 2017/18 marketing year now stand at 21.83 million mt, 29.9% higher than at the same stage last year.