FEATURES OF PRICE INDICATORS ON THE WHEAT MARKET

The article focuses on the role of price indicators in ensuring the transparency and efficiency of commodity markets, with a particular emphasis on the Russian agricultural sector, specifically the wheat market. It highlights the necessity of objective and regularly updated price benchmarks for market participants, especially in the context of foreign trade and volatile price dynamics. The study analyzes the current situation with wheat pricing, noting its limited suitability as a standardized exchange commodity and the low trading volumes on existing exchanges. The research reveals differences between exchange indicators and Rosstat data, attributed to different calculation methodologies, with Rosstat's information being recognized as more reliable due to its broader coverage of commodity groups and extensive sampling. The article addresses the issue of opaque prices for agricultural products caused by external sanctions, which the Russian government is attempting to resolve by establishing a system of national price indicators. It points out that at the initial stage of developing such system, market specificities crucial for the accurate formation of price indicators are overlooked by regulators. Based on the identified peculiarities of pricing and contracting in the wheat market, a set of recommendations has been formulated, including: 1) expanding sources of price information by moving beyond exclusive reliance on commodity exchanges and aggregating data from alternative electronic trading platforms; 2) transferring the aggregation of information and formation of indicators to an authorized state authority, such as Rosstat or a relevant Federal State Information System (FGIS); and 3) developing exchange trading solely on a voluntary basis, eliminating administrative coercion to bring goods to the exchange.