Russian grains export pace picks up week-on-week: ministry
The pace of exports for Russian grains has picked up in the second week of the year, data released by the Ministry of Agriculture showed Monday, just days after the USDA said it expected US planted acreage to be the second lowest on record.
Russian wheat exports show no sign of letting up, with sales in the week from January 9-14 coming in at 1.14 million mt.
Total wheat exports since July 1 now stand at 21.84 million mt, 34.9% higher than at the same stage in the 2016/17 marketing year.
Barley exports have also continued at pace, almost twice as high as the same stage last year at 3.59 million mt.
Corn, meanwhile, has narrowed the gap on last year and is now just 2% behind at 2.41 million mt.
Russia is enjoying its second year of a bumper wheat crop that has put rival producers under pressure.
The USDA on Friday said it expected Russia to produce 85 million mt of wheat this year, exporting 35 million mt.
That contrasts with estimates that the US planted acreage for wheat will be the second smallest on record.