Ample grain supply provoked talk that some of the grain wascoming from hidden stocks. Market players speculated that some farms wrote off part of the crop as destroyed by the drought, to get compensation, while in fact they retained some grain. The Russian Grain Union industry lobby estimated in February that some 3 million tonnes of grain may have been hidden. In southern Russia, third-grade milling wheat declined to$215 per tonne from $216, fourth-grade to $198 from $204, feed wheat to $188 from $195, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said in a weekly note. It said feed barley prices index remained unchanged at $278per tonne, while maize slightly strengthened to $294 per tonne from $291. „We notice signs that the decline is slowing down, as,according to rumours, some companies started to buy thinking the prices are close to their bottom,” IKAR said. SovEcon agricultural analysts said in their note that feedwheat led the decline last week, having lost 275 roubles ($9,69) and reaching 5,925 roubles per tonne EXW in European Russia. Milling wheat of both third and fourth grades declined by 250 roubles to 6.550 roubles and 6.150 roubles per tonne, accordingly, it said. Average prices of other cereals declined less. But in theVolga region wheat prices declined by 300-400 roubles per tonne, SovEcon said. Prices may receive support from the government interventionsales, as the interest of buyers towards tenders is declining, while the government is slow at distributing feed grains, it said. It added that last week major traders started naming biddingprices for grain at 5.100-5.600 roubles per tonne CPT, but failed to find offers at these levels. Sunseed purchase prices declined to $666 from $668, whilecrude sunoil prices fell to $1,461 per tonne from $1,493, reaching levels at which exports may becomes attractive, IKAR said. „Sunseeds were little changed, losing just 25 roubles to 19.600 roubles per tonne, while sunoil prices lost 675 roubles to 44.000 roubles per tonne,” SovEcon said. „Prices fell most notably, by around 1.000 roubles per tonnein the Central Black Soil region, where competition with sunoil from Ukraine is most acute.” White sugar prices continued to decline on growing marketsaturation with white sugar processed from cane raws. Prices in southern Russia declined to $1,039 per tonne from $1,044, or to 29.500 roubles per tonne from 30.000.