The growth of wheat futures on international exchanges and farmers' strikes in France

On January 25, 2024, wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) continued to rise for the second day in a row. March soft winter wheat futures on the CBOT reached $224.96 per ton, March hard winter wheat futures on KCBT in Kansas City rose to $234.05 per ton, and March hard spring wheat futures on the MGEX in Minneapolis reached $260. 51 per ton.

The March KSVT hard red winter wheat contract hit a three-week high as the market expects increased demand for high-quality milling wheat. Drought in the U.S. plains over the past two years has reduced the country's production of hard red winter wheat, resulting in reduced food grain supplies.

In France, there are strikes by farmers protesting against low wages and high government regulation. Agriculture Minister Mark Fesno promised to present proposals to solve the crisis by the end of the week.

On the Paris Exchange (MATIF), closing quotes for March contracts were:

- milling wheat (March 2023) - $237.52 per ton (RUB 20,970/t) - an increase of .64%;
- corn (March 2023) - $203.78 per ton (RUB 17,990/t) - an increase of .16%;
- sunflower (March on the SAFEX exchange) - 8472.00 zar./t (39640 rub./t) - an increase of 1.15%;
- sunflower oil (January, Rotterdam, bulk FOB) - $950.00 per ton (RUB 83,870/t) - a decrease of 1.04%.