Romanian wheat rises to €226 a tonne as Turkey seeks Black Sea alternatives
Romanian milling wheat gained €5 to €226 a tonne DAP Constanța as Turkish millers considered alternatives to Russian and Ukrainian grain. Higher freight and war-risk costs are reshaping Black Sea sourcing despite competitive prices in Ukraine and Russia.
Constanța wheat prices gain
Romanian milling wheat rose by €5 to €226 a tonne DAP Constanța toward the middle of the week, according to Agrointel. Feed wheat also gained €5 to €205 a tonne, while feed barley increased by €3 to €216 and corn by €2 to €218. At an exchange rate of €1 to 5.25 Romanian lei, milling wheat was valued at 1,186 lei a tonne.
The increase provided some price support for Romanian farmers even as European futures weakened. The December MATIF wheat contract fell 0.9% on Tuesday to close at €236.75 a tonne after reaching a four-week high of €242 on Monday. Agrointel linked the reversal to hopes of a possible easing of Black Sea tensions, although attacks continued and Russia reported strikes on five vessels in Ukrainian ports.
Turkish millers broaden their search
Turkish millers are looking more actively at Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic states as alternatives to wheat from Ukraine and Russia. The shift follows a rapid increase in transport and security costs: freight for Ukrainian wheat rose from $42 to $54 a tonne, while war-risk insurance reached about 2% of a vessel’s value.
Turkey remains dependent on imported wheat despite a domestic harvest estimated at a record 24 million tonnes. Imports in the current marketing year are forecast at about 4 million tonnes. Final demand will depend on domestic prices, the policies of the Turkish Grain Board, or TMO, and flour exports.
The country wants to increase flour exports to 3 million tonnes in 2026 from 2.345 million tonnes last year. That target could sustain demand for imported grain and create additional opportunities for Romanian exporters if disruption in the Black Sea basin persists.
Logistics outweigh low origin prices
Russian and Ukrainian grain remains competitively priced, but exporters face serious logistical constraints. Russian wheat has fallen to $210 a tonne FOB, while the government is considering removing an export tax of about $12 a tonne through the end of the year. Drone attacks have disrupted routes through the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, which accounted for 70% of Russian grain exports, prompting consideration of Baltic and Caspian ports.
Ukraine’s corn trade illustrates the widening gap between commodity value and deliverability. The country exported only 51,900 tonnes of corn on August 13-19 after activity at ports in the Odesa region almost stopped. Rail shipments for export were 77% lower during the first 18 days of August than in the same period last year, while Danube routes were constrained by flows at only 38-43% of normal during the first half of the month.
European grain and oilseeds diverge
Ukrainian yellow feed corn was quoted at about €180 a tonne FCA Odesa and €165 FOB, compared with roughly €240 FOB for French corn and €292 EXW in northern Germany. The discount reflects the difficulty and risk of moving Ukrainian supplies rather than a lack of price competitiveness.
Oilseeds moved in the opposite direction at Constanța: sunflower fell by €13 to €507 a tonne and rapeseed by €7 to €518. On Euronext, however, November rapeseed rose 2.11% to €533 a tonne. For regional sellers and buyers, physical access, freight and insurance are increasingly determining which Black Sea origin is commercially viable.
