Andrey Sizov
26.02.2024
On Friday, May SRW wheat contract closed at $5.69/bu ($209/mt; -1.8% compared to Thursday). May French wheat closed at €199.50/mt ($216/mt; -0.4%). May corn reached a new contract low during trading at $4.12/bu and closed at $4.13/bu ($163/mt; -1.2%).
U.S. wheat prices were impacted by sluggish export sales. The USDA reported that 234 TMT of wheat were sold from February 9 to 15, vs the estimate of 300-550 TMT.
Corn prices were affected amid favorable weather conditions in South America. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange noted an improvement in Argentina’s corn crop conditions last week, with 85% of crops in normal to excellent condition, an increase from 83% the week before and above the five-year average of 80%.
The Latvian Parliament has approved a ban on agricultural imports from Russia and Belarus until 2025. Before the ban, Latvia was the EU’s second-largest importer of Russian agricultural products, following Italy.
Polish farmers have destroyed approximately 160 MT of Ukrainian grain intended for transit to other countries, Ukraine’s Minister of Restoration Oleksandr Kubrakov reported. He cited at least four incidents of grain spilling from freight cars.
Ukraine exported 4.3 million tons of grain from February 1 to 23, compared to 3.8 MMT during the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. Total exports since the season’s start have reached 28.2 MMT, down from 30.8 MMT in the previous season.
On Thursday and Friday, Odesa was attacked by drones. During Thursday’s attack, port infrastructure sustained damage.
