HC' poster bigco says there'[s overnight been a 'boom' in wheat...

HC' poster bigco says there'[s overnight been a 'boom' in wheat and rice prices.

This is from 'The Australian' online on Tuesday 25 July 2023. I have no expertise in geopolitics so am unsure what, if anything, it means for Australia's wheat exports (except that given as a general rule no market likes uncertainty, it may further highlight the importance of our grain production to much of the rest of the world):

"Lithuania has urged the European Union to use Baltic ports to export Ukrainian grain after Russia declined to renew a 2022 deal on their safe passage through the Black Sea.

Russia has said it is ready to return to the agreement, which has allowed the export of nearly 33 million tonnes of grain from Ukrainian ports, if its demands are met “in their totality”. Moscow says its own deliveries of agricultural products and fertilisers under the deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey were hampered by Western sanctions.

A letter by three Lithuanian ministers to EU commissioners said Baltic ports could “serve as a reliable alternative for transiting Ukrainian products, including cereals”. The letter said Baltic ports could help transport 25 million tonnes of grain annually. It also asked the EU to cut red tape on Ukraine’s border with Poland, a member of the bloc.

Last week, Ukraine’s European neighbours urged the EU to extend a grain import ban until the end of the year, amid fears local farmers would be undercut by diverted Ukrainian supplies. In June, Brussels agreed to allow Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania to restrict imports of grain from Ukraine through September."