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Por Tom Polansek
CHICAGO, March 1 (Archyde.com) – Chicago Stock Exchange wheat futures soared to their highest level in nearly 14 years on Tuesday as traders fear a prolonged disruption to global supplies following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. , the other major grain exporter in the world.
* Corn also rose to trade near a 10-month high as the market grappled with disrupted shipments from Ukraine, as well as the risk that a long-running conflict could hamper spring plantings.
* Buyers of corn for animal feed have rushed to reserve supplies from the European Union to replace Ukrainian exports blocked by the Russian invasion, traders said.
* However, as the bloc is also sensitive to loss of Ukrainian supply, importers may have to look elsewhere for alternative supplies.
* “As the conflict goes on, there are basically no shipments from Ukraine,” said Don Roose, president of broker US Commodities.
* The most active CBOT wheat contract was up by the 50-cent limit at $9.84 a bushel by 1815 GMT. That was the highest price since April 2008 and surpassed a 13-1/2-year high reached on Friday.
* The most active corn contract rose by the limit of 35 cents to $7.2575 a bushel, the highest price since May 12. CBOT soybeans rose 44 1/2 cents to $16.8125 a bushel.
* Russia and Ukraine account for about 29% of world wheat exports, 19% of world maize supply, and 80% of world sunflower oil exports. Investors are concerned that the conflict in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia will prevent farmers from planting crops such as corn this spring.
* “I think of farmland as battlefields, and some of that land is just not going to be available,” said Stephen Nicholson, global grains and oilseeds strategist at Rabobank. “It is a challenge to grow a crop anywhere in the world, and even more so in the middle of a conflict.”
(Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago, Gus Trompiz in Paris, and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing in Spanish by Javier Leira)