* Chicago wheat hits highest since March 2008
* Deferred CBOT wheat falls by daily limit
* Corn and soybean futures turn lower
CHICAGO, March 2 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures rose by their daily limit to a 14-year high on Wednesday as the conflict in Ukraine raised major concerns about grain supplies that will be available from the Black Sea region.
Corn futures reached their highest price since December 2012, when the market set an all-time record, before pulling back.
The markets were volatile as traders assessed how long the Russia-Ukraine conflict would last and whether it would hamper plantings of spring crops.
Russia and Ukraine account for about 29% of global wheat exports, 19% of corn exports and 80% of exports of sunflower oil, which competes with soyoil.
"The battle between Russia and the Ukraine has prompted the closing off of the Black Sea ports and they will likely be closed for at least 60 to 90 days," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, an analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage in Iowa.
"That forces the market to pencil in no exports out of that region until spring and has the trade uncertain about what production in Ukraine will look like in 2022."
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade climbed by the expanded 75-cent limit to $10.59 a bushel by 12:20 p.m. CST (1820 GMT), its highest level since March 2008.
Deferred wheat futures tumbled by the daily limit amid spread trading and some hopes that the crisis may only keep wheat off the global market in the short term, analysts said.
"Global buyers of grains have been increasingly turning to the U.S., Europe or South America to secure supplies in the immediate term," ING said in a note. "The demand for stockpiling has also increased due to the current uncertainty."
The most active CBOT corn contract peaked at $7.47-3/4, the highest level since December 2012, before slipping back to trade 3-3/4 cents lower at $7.22 a bushel.
Most-active CBOT soybeans were down 32-1/2 cents at$16.56-1/2 a bushel. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago. Additional reporting by Nigel Hunt in London and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Jan Harvey, Kirsten Donovan and Richard Chang)
