Russian wheat exports slip to 6-mth low as ministry plans sell-off

Sales of Russian wheat have slowed for the third consecutive week, posting the lowest weekly figure since July 2017, data from the ministry of agriculture showed Monday.

Weekly wheat sales of 466,000 mt were the lowest of the 2017/18 marketing year since the week ending July 30 and were 47,000 mt lower than during the same week in the 2016/17 marketing year.

Weather-related issues and logistical challenges have been behind the recent slowdown, according to market sources.

Despite the drop-off in sales, there are now plans afoot to bring extra supply to market.

On Friday, a research director at the ministry of agriculture unveiled government plans to  to release state-owned stocks for export on top of this year’s record-breaking harvest.

“Exporters have another three months to sell grain with a big margin,” said Anatoly Kutsenko of the ministry’s department of economics, investment and regulation, in a statement released on Monday.

“In June we will send 500,000 mt of grain from the intervention fund for export – grain bought between 2008-2016, which will affect prices,” Kutsenko said, referring to the state body which has been used in the past to buy up excess supply and regulate prices.

Despite the recent drop-off in the pace of wheat sales, the total figure for the year remains 33.8% above last year at 23.72 million mt.

Weekly barley sales bounced back from last week’s figure – up more than three times to 103,000 mt – but corn sales fell by almost half week-on-week to 78,000 mt.

Total 2017/18 barley sales are 90.3% higher year-on-year at 3.78 million mt, while barley is down 4.8% at 2.74 million mt.

Total grain exports for the year now stand at 30.45 million mt – a year-on-year increase of 33.9%.