Rise in wheat prices concerns Russian livestock producers

The official static data indicated that the price of a tonne of wheat of the fourth grade now is standing at RUB8,820 (US$217), while in in November of last year it was amounted to RUB7,134 (US$192.6).

Prices for large consumers are even higher: on average the price of feed grain at large contracts is standing at RUB10,500 (US$229.2) per tonne, says the president of Agrifood Strategies Albert Davleev. Such a rapid increase in prices, in the opinion of experts, is taking place due to the falling of the exchange rate of the Russian ruble against dollar and euro.

General Director of the analytical agency ‘ProZerno’ Vladimir Petrychenko said that the Russian grain market is integrated in the world market – and, even with the large figures for the total harvest this year, it is affected by the currency fluctuations

The recent rise of wheat prices will affect poultry and pig producers in the country, according to the President of the National Union of Grain Producers Paul Skurihin. The price of feed accounts for about 60% of the production cost of poultry, adds the President of the analytical agency Agrifood Strategies Albert Davleev.

The chairman of the executive committee of the National Meat Association (NMA) Sergey Yushin say that in pig farming this figure reaches 35%, so he is afraid that the increase in prices for pork on the domestic market will not compensate the losses made by farmers from the purchasing of the expensive wheat.