Russian Grain Union: From October 1 to October 20, Russian grain exports decreased by 16% year-on-year

According to Yelena Kutina, Director of the RGU Analysis Department, the wheat export volume from October 1 to 20 was 383.7 million tons, a 10% decrease from the 425.7 million tons in the same period last year; barley export volume decreased by 45% year-on-year, from 45.8 million tons to 25.2 million tons; corn export volume decreased from 19.7 million tons to 4.1 million tons.

The number of buyers of Russian grain has also decreased. From October 1 to 20 this year, Russian wheat was exported to 26 countries, compared to 46 countries in the same period last year. Egypt remains the top buyer, with a volume of 83.75 million tons, but this is a 16% decrease from the same period last year; exports to Turkey increased by 27.7% from 31 million tons to 39.6 million tons. Iran ranks third, with exports more than doubling from 11.4 million tons to 35.4 million tons.

Wheat exports to Bangladesh increased to 32 million tons, up from 13.6 million tons in the same period last year; exports to Libya increased by 5.7 times, and exports to Israel increased by 30%. During the same period, 13.75 million tons of wheat were exported to Sudan and 6.95 million tons to Vietnam, while there were no exports in the same period last year.

In addition, wheat exports to Kenya decreased by 45% to 10.2 million tons; exports to the UAE decreased by 49% to 9.5 million tons; exports to Oman decreased by 24% to 7.15 million tons.

Regarding price trends, Kutina said that in the first 20 days of October, French wheat prices fell by 1.3% to $224 per ton (from $227 per ton on October 1); U.S. wheat prices rose by 0.9% to $228 per ton (from $226 per ton on October 1). The price of Russian wheat (Grade 4, Novorossiysk ex-works) fell from $230 per ton on October 1 to $229 per ton. She said that compared to European wheat, Russian wheat prices are not discounted, which has inhibited the pace of Russian wheat exports.

In terms of domestic wheat prices, from October 1 to 20, domestic wheat prices in Russia fell by 2.5% to 13,300 rubles per ton. The selling price for farmers in USD was $163.5 per ton on October 20, down $1.6 per ton from $165.1 per ton on October 1.