Farmers' leaders say a shock Russian ban on grain exports underlines the need for Britain to maintain its own productive farming sector.

Russian premier Vladimir Putin sent shockwaves through world markets when he announced the "temporary" ban on Thursday after a severe drought devastated crops and wildfires spread across the country.

Prices of basic foods such as flour, bread and beer are likely to shoot up following the withdrawal from the market of the world's third largest grain exporter in ten days' time.

Panic engulfed commodity markets because the announcement followed hard on the news that heavy rain has wiped out much of the Canadian wheat crop.

Wheat prices rose to their highest since the 2007-08 global food crisis, gaining more than 12 per cent to hit a peak of €236 a tonne on record trading volumes and amid fears of food price inflation.

NFU combinable crops board chairman Ian Backhouse said the sudden crisis was the second time in four years that weather events had led to unprecedented wheat market moves, and demonstrated how finely balanced global supply and demand is.

"It's impossible to speculate on the impact this dramatic market movement might have. But what this does serve to show is how important it is to maintain and develop our own productive capacity in grain faced with unpredictable supply from overseas," he said.

Mr Backhouse said EU producers had a reliable record on their capacity to produce and export.

"We must remember that stable production in the EU is relevant not just to our own but also to global food security," he said.

"We have an increasing responsibility to the rest of the world to ensure we fulfil the potential we have to produce more food while impacting less on the environment.

"As these recent weather patterns demonstrate, farmers and growers are being asked to do this against a backdrop of dwindling natural resources and challenging weather patterns. Therefore it will be increasingly important we participate in international export markets which are fair and transparent.

"Events this past week, resulting in extreme market movements, underline the importance of a vibrant domestic grain industry and a strong European agricultural policy that focuses on delivering a more productive sector."