MOSCOW, June 24 (Reuters) - Russian wheat export prices
continued to decline last week amid data on high yields at the
start of the harvesting campaign in Russia, analysts said.
    The price of 12.5% protein Russian new crop wheat scheduled
free-on-board (FOB) with delivery in July was $231 per metric
ton at the end of last week, $3 lower than the price a week
earlier, according to the IKAR consultancy.
    Sovecon determined the price of wheat with a protein content
of 12.5% with the nearest delivery at $234-236 a ton at the end
of last week, down from $244-$248 a ton FOB.
    Agricultural consultancy Sovecon said early yield data had
supported a bearish case for wheat, with Russia's agriculture
ministry putting the average wheat yield at 5.2 tons a hectare
from 12,000 hectares harvested, compared to around 4.5 tons a
hectare a year ago. 
    "This year’s figure is misleading due to the early start of
the harvest in the high-yielding Krasnodar region," Sovecon said
however in the weekly note.
    "Early information from farmers and local authorities
indicates a patchy picture for starting yields".
    Harsh frost did not have a significant impact on grain
harvest volumes as Russia was able to reseed most of the
affected farmland, Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said
last week. 
    The ministry had kept it forecast of 132 million metric tons
for the grain harvest in 2024, but said it might be adjusted
later.
    IKAR raised its forecast for Russia's wheat crop to 82
million metric tons from 81.5 million tons last week after
specifying production by regions.
    Russia has almost completed its sowing campaign and started
harvesting the new crop in the southern regions of the country.
     As of June 14, farmers had seeded 28.1 million hectares of
grains, compared to 30.2 million hectares in the same period in
2023. That included 12.5 million hectares of spring wheat,
compared to 13.7 million last year, Sovecon wrote.
   Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter. Its exports
increased to 0.83 million tons of grain last week from 0.80
million in the previous week. 
    Exports included 0.77 million tons of wheat, down from 0.78
million tons a week earlier, Sovecon wrote, citing port data.
    Sovecon estimates wheat exports in June at 4.0 million tons,
compared to 3.6 million tons in June 2023.
     Other Russian data provided by Sovecon and IKAR:

 Product:              Most recent data:  Change from a week
                                                     earlier
 - Domestic 3rd class      14,350 rbls/t         -200 rbls/t
 wheat, European part                     
 of Russia, excludes                      
 delivery (Sovecon)                       
 - Sunflower seeds         32,025 rbls/t         -225 rbls/t
 (Sovecon)                                
 - Domestic sunflower      76,850 rbls/t       -1,325 rbls/t
 oil (Sovecon)                            
 - Domestic soybeans       39,875 rbls/t         -575 rbls/t
 (Sovecon)                                
 - Export sunflower               $920/t                -$10
 oil (IKAR)                               
 - White sugar,                $725.83/t           +$22.96/t
 Russia's south                                             
 (IKAR)                                   
 
    
 (Reporting by Olga Popova; Editing by Jan Harvey)