Wheat price starts week at slightly higher level

The September contract crept up to just above €230 per tonne in Paris. December delivery was around €320 per tonne on Monday, August 29, mid-afternoon.

Bargain hunters sparked a price recovery last week after falling prices in recent weeks. This was followed by further price support related to lower corn harvest estimates. Concerns about soybean yields also help wheat prices.

EU wheat exports

Although there is some demand for wheat from importing countries here and there, wheat exports are far from wild. In the first weeks, exports from the EU got off to a good start, but now exports seem to be somewhat stagnating. Last year, significant quantities of EU wheat were shipped in the second half of August and September. Since mid-August, according to figures from the European Commission, it has been meagre in terms of activities on the export front.

Export Russia

And traders point out that the demand for wheat from the United States also leaves something to be desired. In addition, according to market experts, exports from Russia are also not doing as well as expected. The latter does put pressure on prices, because the Russians harvest so much wheat that they have insufficient storage capacity for the harvest.

The export indicator price of Russian wheat fell to below € 350 per ton last week. This means that the prices are about €50 per tonne lower than in mid-July. However, the consequences for the Russian grain sector are smaller than this fall in prices would suggest. That’s because grain exports have seen export levies fall from around €100 in July to below €70 per tonne this week.