World wheat prices continue to rise, international indices have reached new highs - a review of the grain market news.

During the reporting week, from November 15, 2024, to November 22, 2024, global wheat prices continued to rise. Prices for the following types of wheat increased:

• soft red winter wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT, ZW) rose to 544.25 cents per bushel (+1.44%);
• hard red winter wheat on the Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT, KE) increased to 554.25 cents per bushel (+2.64%);
• hard red spring wheat on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGE, MWE) rose to 586.00 cents per bushel (+2.40%);

The corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT, ZC) rose to 425.50 cents per bushel (+0.35%). The price of rice in Chicago (CBOT, ZR) increased to 15.15 dollars per hundredweight (+3.20%).

Indicative prices for Russian products on FOB terms in the Black Sea and Azov Sea regions:

• wheat decreased to 222.50 dollars per ton (-0.45%);
• barley fell to 185.40 dollars per ton (-2.37%);
• corn rose to 220.60 dollars per ton (+3.28%);

The wheat index in Russia, CPT Novorossiysk, reached 18026 rubles per ton (+0.95%).

Procurement prices within Russia for 4th class wheat with 12.5% protein at the port elevators in the Black Sea and Azov Sea regions during the reporting period were:

• Azov – 15200 (0) rubles per ton
• Novorossiysk – 18350 (+200) rubles per ton
• Rostov-on-Don – 15200 (0) rubles per ton
• Taganrog – 15200 (0) rubles per ton
• Taman – 17350 (-50) rubles per ton

GRAIN MARKET NEWS

• Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation proposes to extend the ban on rice and rice groats exports for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2025. Currently, the ban is in effect until December 31, 2024. Rice seeds are no longer subject to the ban.

• The International Grains Council (IGC) raised its forecast for grain exports from Russia for the current agricultural year to 52.3 million tons. The wheat export forecast was also increased to 44.2 million tons.

• Corn stocks in agricultural organizations as of November 1, 2024, increased by 21.04% compared to the previous year and amounted to 4.28 million tons.

• In the northern part of the Krasnodar Territory, around 60% of planned areas for winter crops in 2024 were not sown. The majority of winter crops for 2025 will be sown in Kuban, where 1.8 million hectares have been planted. However, there are risks of unstable and low yields. As of now, 11.6 million tons of grains and leguminous crops have been harvested in the Rostov region.

• All winter crops in the Rostov region are behind the usual schedule due to unfavorable weather conditions, as almost the entire region reports the Federal State-Funded Institution "Rosselkhoztsentr". The yield of winter crops depends on the weather. If the winter is wet, warm, and snowy, the losses will be minimal. As of November 1, 11.6 million tons of grains and leguminous crops have been harvested in the Rostov region.

• In 2025, grain harvesting in Russia may exceed 139.5 million tons, and the yield is expected to reach 29 centners per hectare, according to Rosselkhozbank. If the forecast for 2025 materializes, it will be a record figure, surpassing last year's numbers by 7% and competing with the results of 2022 and 2023.

• Starting from November 27, 2024, export duties on wheat, meslin, and corn will increase, while those on barley will decrease.

BELARUS
Last week, corn harvest in Belarus was completed. Nearly 2.4 million tons of corn were harvested for grain use. The yield of this crop reached 78.5 centners per hectare. A total of 305.7 thousand hectares of sown areas were harvested.

KAZAKHSTAN
• The Government of Kazakhstan's reserve will allocate 10 billion tenge for direct purchases of grain from the new crop. For market stabilization, it is planned to purchase 155 thousand tons of grain at market prices.

• Compensation is planned to be introduced for partial reimbursement of grain transportation costs to external markets. Compensations will be provided for the following routes: Azerbaijan, European Union countries, North Africa, Iran, Afghanistan via Turkmenistan, Southeast Asian countries via China.

UKRAINE
• 98% of the planned areas have already been threshed. 53.4 million tons of grain crops have been harvested, including: wheat –