Wheat fell to around $7 per bushel, its lowest level since Aug. 25 and more than 8% below the 3-1/2-year high of $7.67 reached on Aug. 28, as markets weighed worsening port disruptions against diplomatic efforts to reopen Black Sea shipping routes. Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said in Brussels that there were no positive signs of a ceasefire covering grain exports in the coming months. Russia and Ukraine account for more than a quarter of global wheat shipments, while attacks on each other’s port facilities have intensified since July. Ukraine’s alternative routes handle 45% of required shipments but can carry no more than 50%, putting about 30 million tons of agricultural commodities at risk of not being exported during the current marketing year. Turkey is seeking to restore the corridor, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded positively, but Vysotskyi said Russia had rejected proposals from Kyiv’s partners. Ukraine held 24.6 million metric tons of grain inventories on Sept. 1, up 10 million tons from a year earlier, while importers in Asia, the Middle East and Africa sought alternatives, including 60,000 tons recently shipped from France to Yemen and elevated Argentine export commitments. Traders also assessed US-China tariff reductions covering roughly $30 billion of imports from each side and awaited clearer evidence of Chinese purchases under a separate $17 billion agricultural-goods pledge. The European Commission rejected Ukraine’s request for €220 million in agricultural support and a liquidity mechanism, while a US$250 million low-interest World Bank loan is expected to help the sector through the new year.