Global wheat prices jumped 5 per cent overnight as Russian marches into the Crimean Peninsula in the Ukraine

GLOBAL wheat prices have shot up in response to the Russian military taking up strategic positions on the Crimean Peninsula in the Ukraine.

GLOBAL wheat prices have shot up in response to the Russian military taking up strategic positions on the Crimean Peninsula in the Ukraine.

May 2014 wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade jumped 4.9 per cent overnight, or 30 US cents a bushel, to 632 US cents/bu.

It follows a 13-cent — or 2.2 per cent — jump on Friday.

International prices have now shot up $18 a tonne in Australian dollar terms since last Thursday.

Markets are concerned about shipments of grain out of the region if tension rises.

Russia and the Ukraine are big producers of grain, including wheat.

The United States Department of Agriculture has forecast Russian wheat production this year at 52 million tonnes, while the Ukraine is expected to harvest a 22 million tonne crop.

Both countries have emerged as producers of lower quality wheat compared to Australia but, over time, have taken market share away from traditional Australian markets in the Middle East and African regions.

British online commodity newsletter Agrimoney.com is reporting some Ukrainian farmers are withholding grain stocks in case the local currency, the hryvnia, collapses if tensions escalate.