Wheat milling presents stability in Brazil in 2021

The Brazilian Wheat Industry Association - Abitrigo concluded the collection of results from the 2021 Wheat Milling Survey, which indicated maintenance of the milling volume in relation to the previous period. In addition, data from four new industrial plants were included in the survey, which had, in total, 111 mills responding, divided between associated and non-associated.

“The 2021 edition of the survey had an excellent contribution from Brazilian mills, responsible for 92,6% of the values ​​calculated. The remaining 7,4% were data obtained through the evaluation carried out by a team of sector experts brought together by Abitrigo, involving cereal growers, regional mill managers, wheat buyers and regional unions”, highlights the Executive President of Abitrigo Rubens Barbosa .

The result of the research, according to Barbosa, expresses a stable demand for wheat flour in Brazil and the impacts of the increase in the cost of producing the cereal. “In 2021, there was no growth in the consumption of flour by Brazilians. This is probably still a reflection of the impacts of the pandemic on the population. Furthermore, the conflict scenario between Russia and Ukraine made production costs and the cereal itself more expensive worldwide, which was reflected in Brazilian milling numbers,” he explains.

The research indicated that 12.671.917 tons of wheat were milled, a number that represents around 9,9 million tons of wheat flour, in 160 industrial units, considering the estimates of the 49 mills that did not officially disclose their data.

According to Abitrigo, the flour produced was mainly consumed in the bakery segment (44,0%). The sectors that complement the destination of flour are: pasta, biscuits, industrial bread, food service and domestic.