Ukraine wheat prices weighed down by Omicron variant

As of Nov. 30, the offer price for 11.5% Ukrainian wheat FOB Berdyansk with delivery in December fell by USD 5 per ton versus Friday's, Nov. 26, level to USD 320 per ton, while 12.5% wheat lost USD 4 per ton and was traded at USD 321 per ton, Refinitiv Agriculture writes with Atria Brokers analysts.

"On Black Friday, November 26, trading on world exchanges were under pressure from the spread of another variant of COVID-19 [Omicron – ed.]. On Monday morning, November 29, exporters still tried to offer at previous high levels, but there was no interest from the importers. GASC November 29 tender parties struggled to the end to win by discounting their offers. As a result, GASC bought 600 thou. t of wheat," analysts mark.

Ukrainian corn offers for the December loading period fell by USD 2 per ton to USD 278 per ton FOB Mykolaiv against Friday amid concerns about demand prospects in the wake of COVID-19, as well as an increase in supply.

As of November 25, corn harvesting in Ukraine was 87% completed. The new crop reached 35.07 mln t using the average yield of 7.32 t/ha. On the reporting date last year, 92% of corn was collected in Ukraine. The Agrarian Ministry of Ukraine improved its forecast for corn production in 2021/22 to 40 mln t.

"In addition, the EU 27 has lifted the duty on corn imports from the U.S., which market participants believe should not affect trade much due to Europe's traditional preference for non-GMO products," Atria Brokers add.

Previously reported that Egypt's GASC made a sizable wheat purchase in the latest tender. The country's state grain buyer booked Romanian, Russian and Ukrainian wheat.

Since the start of 2021/22, staple grains export from Ukraine has increased by 17.6% to 24.19 mln t.

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