Abitrigo research indicates stability in wheat milling in 2022

The compilation of data regarding wheat milling in Brazil carried out by the Brazilian Wheat Industry Association – Abitrigo concluded that, in 2022, the country presented stability in relation to the volume of wheat milled in the previous year. In total, 12,56 million tons of cereal were processed in 144 industrial plants.

“Abitrigo’s Milling Research is an important reference for the production of wheat flour in the country. Using it, we can work together with our associates to make decisions relevant to this link in the wheat chain, ensuring more assertive results for the milling industry and also the food security of the Brazilian population”, explains the Executive President of Abitrigo, Rubens Barbosa.

In relation to maintaining the volume of ground wheat in the country, Barbosa points to the stability in demand for flour, as well as the consequences of the scenario experienced in 2021, as factors for this result in 2022.

Barbosa also adds that the research shows this is a stable sector, which does not suffer from market variations. “Even in a period of several events that shook the global wheat scenario, such as the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and also the crop failure in Argentina, which directly impacted the price of the commodity, consumption did not undergo a considerable change. This shows that the demand for wheat flour is inelastic to world events.”

The 12.565.920 tons of wheat processed generated approximately 8,5 million tons of flour for the market. The main sectors that received the wheat flour produced were bakery and pre-mixes (42,6% of the total), the pasta industry (12,5%) and the biscuit industry (10%).

Regional results

“Evaluating the results obtained by regions and by state, we noticed that, in general, the volumes were balanced to the point of producing a grinding very similar to that observed in 2021, which demonstrates the processing stability of the grinding sector from north to south of the country. Country”, points out Barbosa.

Wheat milling in Paraná represents 30% of the national total (12,56 million tons), encompassing 45 milling plants. The 2.681.816 tons of wheat flour produced in industries in Paraná were mainly used for baking and pre-mixes (35,4%), for the pasta industry (17,7%) and biscuits (15,9%). ).

The North and Northeast regions corresponded to 26% of the total of ground wheat, with the 12 plants in the regions producing a volume of 1.887.330 tons of flour, the highlights of which were bakery and pre-mix (42,5% ), 1kg packages (15,9%) and the pasta industry (11,9%).

The mills in Rio Grande do Sul processed 15% of the wheat used by the sector in 32 manufacturing plants, generating approximately 900 thousand tons of flour, which were consumed by the bakery and pre-mix sectors (47,4%), packaging 5kg (11,7%) and the biscuit industry (7,3%).

In the case of São Paulo, the grinding carried out in the state corresponds to 13% of the Brazilian amount, through work carried out in 15 plants. The volume of flour produced was 1.428.751 tons, whose main destinations were for baking and pre-mixing (49,3%), 5kg packaging (13,4%) and the pasta industry (9%).

For the purpose of calculating the research, the 19 mills in the Central-West region of Brazil and the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro were grouped, and together, they milled 10% of the wheat destined for the processing industry. This amount of cereal generated 1.250.994 tons of flour, which was used for baking and pre-mixes (44,4%), pasta industry (14,2%) and 1kg packaging (13,9%).

Finally, Santa Catarina processed 5% of all the cereal used in the country, producing more than 320 thousand tons of wheat flour, which was mainly destined for bakery and pre-mixes (51,6%), biscuit industry ( 21,2%) and 5kg packages (11,7%).

“The analyzes allow us to conclude that the different regions of Brazil have a similar profile in terms of the distribution of wheat flour produced. The main destinations of all are bakery and pre-mixes, which is an indication of the behavior of the final consumer, who demands more products originating from these sectors”, concludes Rubens Barbosa.