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Ministry: Ukraine, bad weather in US push grain price up

Over the second week of March the average export price for U.S. common wheat increased $10 (3.6 percent) to $286 per tonne

© ITAR-TASS/Valery Matytsin

MOSCOW, March 18, /ITAR-TASS/. Global grain prices are on the rise due to U.S. unfavourable weather conditions and importers’ fears over possible decline in grain shipments from Black Sea ports amid Ukrainian instability, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture said in a survey of the current agricultural and food markets.

Over the second week of March the average export price for U.S. common wheat increased $10 (3.6 percent) to $286 per tonne. Russian grain exports reached 19.36 million tonnes in the 2013/2014 agricultural year (since early July 2013), plus 39 percent year-on-year.

Earlier in March the ministry upped the forecast for grain exports from 20 to 22 million tonnes. Price growth and the weakening rouble make grain export advantageous for Russian traders, Minister Nikolai Fyodorov said then.

However, according to the ministry, price growth does not substantially affect bread prices for consumers due to high self-sufficiency in grain. The average consumer price for bread made of grade 1 and 2 wheat flour is now 35.9 roubles per kilogramme, plus 0.1 percent in week-on-week comparison.

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