flour

The great flour-producing countries of the world are China, the United States and Russia. Historians believe that wheat was brought to China from the Middle East during the Neolithic Period, possibly as early as 1500 B.C. World flour trade has dropped 30 percent in just the past 7 years as global market dynamics have changed. Expanding milling facilities have shifted demand from imported flour to imported wheat. New, private, quality-conscious mills now dominate many of the major markets. These buyers tend to buy small hand-to-mouth wheat cargoes. This contrasts to the monolithic, government buyers that preferred large quantities for deferred shipment. For example, Yemen and Algeria–once the world’s largest flour buyers of over 1 million tons each per year–now import only a fraction of those levels. They both now rely almost entirely on domestic flour production. Competition has increased for the shrinking flour market. New, efficient, regional flour suppliers have grabbed market share by providing quicker delivery, smaller shipments, and cheaper transportation to quality-sensitive buyers.