Grain prices rose sharply before the end of the session on the back of renewed tension in Ukraine.
Ukraine's export capacity remains a key element of global S&D, and this will need to be closely monitored in the coming months. A normal rate of exports would be in the range of 6 to 6.5 Mt per month, whereas current exports are close to 3 Mt/month. On the international market, Algeria is buying wheat for small port deliveries and South Korea is buying 30,000 tonnes of soybean. European soft wheat exports amounted to 4.86 Mt on 28 August, close to last year's figure of 4.88 Mt. Barley exports, however, are lagging, at 1.52 Mt compared to 2.67 Mt last year. Imports of corn are up to 3.87 Mt from 2.60 Mt last year. Rapeseed imports are also up to 972,567 t from 617,850 t last year to date.