M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
Wheat - statistics & facts
Wheat is the second largest grain worldwide based on grain acreage and second largest based on total production volume. The global production volume of wheat came to almost 785 million metric tons in the marketing year of 2023/24. This was a decrease of about four million tons compared to the previous year. Wheat stocks are also forecast to increase to about 281.7 million metric tons worldwide by 2023/2024.
In 2023, around 49.6 million were planted and 37.3 million acres of wheat were harvested in the United States. Almost every U.S. state is involved in the nation’s wheat production, with North Dakota and the ‘Wheat State’ Kansas producing the largest volume. Many developing countries are highly dependent on the Ukraine and Russia's wheat imports. As of June 2022, Armenia and Mongolia fully relied on Russia for meslin and wheat imports. Laos reported the most significant dependence on meslin and wheat supplies from Ukraine, at over 98 percent of total imports of these commodities
Leading producers
The European Union is the second ranked wheat producing region. It was forecast that the region would yield more than 137.5 million metric tons of wheat by 2032, accounting for about one-fifth of the world wheat production.In 2023, around 49.6 million were planted and 37.3 million acres of wheat were harvested in the United States. Almost every U.S. state is involved in the nation’s wheat production, with North Dakota and the ‘Wheat State’ Kansas producing the largest volume. Many developing countries are highly dependent on the Ukraine and Russia's wheat imports. As of June 2022, Armenia and Mongolia fully relied on Russia for meslin and wheat imports. Laos reported the most significant dependence on meslin and wheat supplies from Ukraine, at over 98 percent of total imports of these commodities
Wheat consumption
As one of the most important staple foods, a large variety of different products contain high amounts of wheat. Global consumption of wheat saw a recent decrease, with just under 791 million metric tons consumed in 2022/2023 marketing year. In 2023/24, China was forecast to consume about 153.5 million metric tons of wheat. The global per capita food use of wheat generally stood above 66 kilograms per year in the last decade.
