Andrey Sizov
19.12.2024
On Wednesday, U.S. grain futures declined. March SRW wheat closed at $5.41/bu ($199/mt), down 0.7% from Tuesday. March HRW wheat in Kansas fell to $5.49/bu ($202/mt), down 0.7%. March Euronext wheat closed at €232.75/mt ($241/mt), up 0.2%. March U.S. corn dropped to $4.37/bu ($172/mt), down 1.4%.
Snow cover has formed across the entire territory of Russia following heavy precipitation in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts, according to Roman Vilfand, head of the Russian Hydrometeorological Center. He noted that snow may melt in some areas of Krasnodar Krai by the weekend but will remain over 98-99% of the country.
FranceAgriMer lowered its forecast for French soft wheat exports outside the EU to 4.0 million mt, down from 7.5 million mt in July. This represents a 61% drop compared to last year. The forecast for intra-EU exports was reduced to 6.0 million mt, down from 6.5 million mt in July, 4.5% lower than last year.
Ukrainian grain exports through Romania’s port of Constanta decreased by 54% to 6.0 million mt in the first 11 months of 2024, according to the port authority. The reduced role of Romanian ports in Ukrainian exports is attributed to increased activity at Ukraine’s domestic ports.
Tunisia’s grain agency (ODC) announced a tender to purchase 100,000 mt of soft wheat and 100,000 mt of durum wheat of optional origin, traders reported.
Algeria’s OAIC purchased between 350,000 and 500,000 mt of durum wheat in an international tender, traders said. The price ranged from $340 to $352/mt (C&F).
SovEcon has reduced its forecast for Russian wheat production in 2025 by 3.0 million metric tons (MMT) to 78.7 MMT. This year’s wheat crop is estimated at 81.9 MMT, with a five-year average of 88.2 MMT. The 2025 crop is expected to be significantly lower than last year’s and the average, due to the poor condition of winter crops.
