Russian Wheat Export: Black Sea Logistics, Specs, and What Buyers Should Actually Watch

Russia shipped roughly 55.2 million tonnes of wheat in the 2023/24 season. That's not a typo. One country, one crop year, more wheat than the next two exporters combined.

And yet, half the buyers I talk to — even seasoned procurement guys — still treat Russian wheat like it's some side option. It's not. It's the spine of global wheat trade right now, and if you're sourcing for a flour mill in Egypt, a feed compounder in Vietnam, or a bakery group in Nigeria, you're already eating Russian wheat whether you wrote the contract or not.

I deal mostly in rice and pulses out of Karachi. But wheat keeps coming up in buyer conversations, especially when clients ask me about diversifying origins or hedging when Pakistani or Indian supply tightens. So here's what I've picked up — partly from running my own freight lanes, partly from friends who broker grain out of Novorossiysk and Rostov.

The Black Sea is the whole game

When people say "Russian wheat," they really mean Black Sea wheat. Around 75-80% of Russia's wheat exports move through three deepwater ports — Novorossiysk, Taman, and Tuapse — plus a cluster of shallow-draft river-sea ports along the Azov Sea (Rostov, Azov, Yeysk).

The deepwater ports handle Panamax and Supramax vessels. Think 60,000 to 70,000 tonne lots heading to Egypt, Turkey, Saudi, Indonesia. The Azov ports load smaller coasters — 3,000 to 8,000 tonnes — that either go directly to Mediterranean buyers or transship through Turkish hubs like Mersin and Iskenderun.

Why does this matter to a buyer? Because freight cost per tonne shifts dramatically depending on which port your trader is loading from. A Supramax out of Novorossiysk to Alexandria might run you $18-22 per tonne. The same cargo split across coasters from Azov, transshipped, and re-exported can quietly add $9-14. I've seen contracts where the buyer never asked which port — and ate the difference.

Always ask. Honestly, that's rule one.

The other Black Sea complication, obviously, is the war. Insurance premiums for vessels calling Russian ports spiked hard in 2022, settled somewhat through 2023, and are now a moving target depending on the week. War risk premium on hull can swing from 0.5% to over 1.2% of vessel value. That ends up baked into your CFR price whether the seller itemizes it or not.

Specifications — what the contract actually needs to say

Russian wheat is graded primarily by protein content and class. The export grades you'll see most are:

• 12.5% protein milling wheat — the workhorse. Egypt's GASB tenders, North African mills, most Middle East buyers. Test weight typically 77-78 kg/hl, moisture max 13.5%, foreign matter max 2%.
• 11.5% protein — cheaper, often heading to feed buyers or blenders in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• 13.5%+ protein — premium milling, less common, usually pulled by buyers who need it for specific bread formulations.
• Feed wheat — protein under 11%, used in poultry and livestock compounding across Vietnam, Thailand, the Gulf.

Here's where buyers get burned. They write "12.5% protein min" in the contract and assume that's enough. It isn't. You also need to lock down:

• Falling number (minimum 220-250 seconds for milling — below this and your dough behavior falls apart)
• Gluten content (24% wet gluten minimum is the usual milling threshold)
• Bug damage / sunn pest damage (this one bit a Turkish buyer I know hard last year — Russian wheat from certain southern regions had higher sunn pest incidence and the contract didn't cap it)
• Vomitoxin / DON levels, especially for EU-bound or premium Asian buyers

Get GAFTA 49 or FOSFA terms in writing. Russian sellers are mostly comfortable with GAFTA arbitration in London, and that gives you somewhere to go if the cargo lands and the analysis fights back.

What actually moves the price

Look, the headline number you read in Reuters — "Russian wheat FOB $235" — is almost never what you'll pay. A few things shift it week to week:

1. The export duty. Russia runs a floating wheat export duty tied to a reference price set by the Ministry of Agriculture. It moves weekly. As of recent quarters it's been ranging anywhere from 1,500 to 4,500 rubles per tonne. Sellers price it in. Always.
2. Domestic harvest pressure. August through October, farmers are selling, elevators are full, and FOB prices soften. By March-May, supply tightens and basis widens.
3. Egyptian and Turkish tender results. GASB and TMO tenders effectively set the Black Sea benchmark. When Egypt buys big, everyone else pays more the next week.
4. Ruble-dollar. A weaker ruble makes Russian wheat cheaper in dollar terms even if the local price is flat. I've watched this single factor swing FOB by $8-12 per tonne in a fortnight.

I used to think wheat pricing was simpler than rice. Cleaner specs, bigger volumes, more transparent indexes. Then I sat through a contract negotiation where the seller, the buyer, and two brokers spent 40 minutes arguing about whether the export duty as of bill-of-lading date or contract date applied. I was wrong. It's not simpler. It's just differently messy.

A short buyer checklist before you sign

• Confirm the loading port. Deepwater or Azov? It changes your freight, your laycan flexibility, and your vessel size.
• Get the full spec sheet, not just protein. Falling number, gluten, test weight, moisture, foreign matter, damaged kernels, DON.
• Independent surveyor at load — SGS, Cotecna, Control Union. Not the seller's nominated guy.
• Payment terms: most Russian sellers want LC at sight or CAD. Open account is rare and usually only with repeat counterparties.
• War risk and sanctions clause. Russian wheat itself isn't sanctioned, but banking, insurance, and shipping have friction. Make sure your bank can actually clear the payment before you sign anything.

Am I telling you to switch your whole book to Russian origin? No. But if you're moving more than 5,000 tonnes of wheat a year and you've never seriously priced a Black Sea offer against your usual French, Australian, or Argentine supply — you're probably leaving money on the table.

What would you want me to dig into next, the Egyptian tender mechanics or how the Turkish transshipment trade actually works?