Russian weekly wheat exports stable at 575,000 tonnes, YTD down 20%

Russia’s wheat export volumes from Black Sea ports were stable in the week ended Friday, July 26 compared with the previous week, at 574,653 tonnes, a Fastmarkets analysis of port line-up data showed

In the reporting period, African destinations took about 70% of the total wheat volume exported from Black Sea ports, at 386,453 tonnes, while Middle Eastern destinations booked 64,800 tonnes.

Another 66,000 tonnes were headed for each of South America and Southeast Asia, while the destination for the remaining 27,000 tonnes was not specified.

Morocco was the leading destination for Russian exports during the reporting period, with 141,900 tonnes of wheat going there, followed by Egypt at 65,370 tonnes, Nigeria at 54,383 tonnes, Ethiopia at 48,300 tonnes, Angola at 32,500 tonnes, Tunisia at 27,500 tonnes and Libya at 16,500 tonnes.

Brazil has booked 66,000 tonnes, with the United Arab Emirates at 64,800 tonnes and Sri Lanka at 30,400 tonnes, according to the available data.

Furthermore, the line-up analysis showed that Russian barley shipments tripled compared with the previous week to 235,416 tonnes. That included 235,416 tonnes to Saudi Arabia and 108,500 tonnes to Libya.

Wheat exports in July so far have totaled 2.25 million tonnes, down by around 20% from July 2023.

Based on July figures, wheat exports may reach 2.8 million tonnes, down from 4.5 million tonnes a year earlier, and from the long-term average of 3.0 million tonnes, according to local analysts.

Barley exports in July amounted to 768,000 tonnes, down by 13% year on year, while corn exports reached 195,000 tonnes, down by 55% from the previous year.

This brought total exports of grain since the start of the 2024/25 marketing year in July to around 3.2 million tonnes, excluding exports to Eurasian Economic Union countries. This represented a decrease of around 23% year on year.

Top importers of Russian grain

In terms of cumulative volumes, Egypt has been the leading importer of Russian wheat so far in 2024/25, with 330,000 tonnes delivered, down by 12% year on year.

Morocco ranked second, importing 235,000 tonnes, while during the same period of the previous year, there were no exports to this location.

This was followed by Saudi Arabia with 188,000 tonnes (down by 43%), Libya with 124,000 tonnes (up by 113%) and Algeria with 112,000 tonnes (down by 7%).

Nigeria has booked 111,000 tonnes since the beginning of the season, compared with just 5,000 tonnes imported during the same period last year.

Bangladesh took 105,000 tonnes (down by 37% year on year), Turkey 97,000 tonnes (down by 78% year on year) while Tunisia tripled its deliveries compared with July last year to 81,000 tonnes.

Ethiopia increased shipments to 76,000 tonnes, compared with nil last year, the UAE took 66,000 tonnes (up 58%), Brazil 63,000 tonnes (up 2%), Syria 61,000 tonnes, compared with nil last year, Israel 60,000 tonnes (down 77%), and Tanzania 56,000 tonnes (down 57%).

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