Wheat Glut Erodes U.S. Exports as Cheap Russia Grain Wins Buyers
- Cost-conscious customers can `barely afford' American wheat
- Weaker ruble, falling freight costs benefit Black Sea crop
Summer wheat harvest at the OAO Krasny Vostok Agro agricultural enterprise near Bolshiye Achasary village in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Oil isn’t the only commodity where the largest producers are fighting for market share in a world awash with supply.
Russia and the U.S., two of the biggest wheat exporters, are going head-to-head in a battle for customers. Russian shippers, with the advantage of a weak currency and falling freight rates, can undercut most competitors, selling their grain about 16 percent cheaper than cargoes from the U.S.