Wheat Production By Country (Top 121 Countries)

Wheat is the cereal grain that is consumed the most regularly all over the globe. Wheat is the common name for the seed that comes from grass. Therefore, this cereal grain meal is a basic necessity in every nation.

Where did it originate?

Wheat originates from a type of grass called “Triticum.” Bread wheat, called “common wheat,” is the most important species. Durum is spelled emmer, and einkorn is another type of wheat linked to Khorasan wheat. Bread and other baked things can only be made with the two kinds of flour. There are also semolina, bulgur, couscous, pasta, noodles, and other foods made from wheat.

• There is evidence that wheat was grown for the first time in the Southern Levant (Modern day Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Southern Lebanon, Southern Syria and Sinai Peninsula) around 9600 BC.
• DNA analysis of wheat seeds has confirmed that the oldest evidence of hexaploid wheat goes back to between 6400 BC and 6200 BC.

Which variety of wheat is best?

How you use it depends on what you want to do with it. For example, the best wheat for making yeast bread is hard white and red wheat. On the other hand, cakes and other baked goods are made with soft wheat, while durum wheat is great for making pasta.

• There are 30,000 unique varieties of the 14 species of wheat grown globally.
• Gluten, a protein found in wheat, can adversely affect individuals with certain immune conditions.

Facts About Wheat Production

• In the marketing year of 2021–2022, the world made about 778 million metric tonnes of wheat. There was a rise of about four million tonnes compared to 2020.
• China is the largest wheat producer worldwide. Over the past 20 years, it has produced more than 2.4 billion tonnes of wheat.
• Russia exported $7.3 billion of wheat in 2021, making it the world’s largest exporter.
• The European Union produces approximately five billion bushels of wheat annually, compared with two billion bushels in the U.S.
• After rice and corn, wheat is the world’s third most-produced cereal.
• Most of the wheat flour that is made is used to make bread.
• In Britain, wheat was once “a sign of a high level of culture.”
• The Russia-Ukraine conflict has a disruptive effect on the global wheat market and associated industries.

Russia-Ukraine impact on global wheat price

Ukraine is a significant wheat producer, but the Russian invasion has hampered exports. As a result of Russia’s invasion of a crucial grain exporter, Ukraine, and the subsequent suspension of export shipments from the region, wheat prices worldwide have reached record highs. Given the global supply decline, prices were already raised last year. In addition to the conflict in Ukraine, the weather has impacted many significant wheat-exporting nations. Drought, flooding, and heat waves threaten the crops of several other vital producers.

Is wheat in America different from wheat in Europe?

About 60% of the wheat produced in the United States is firm red wheat, while only 23% is soft wheat. However, the predominant wheat varieties in Europe are the soft variety.

Gluten, a mixture of proteins that exist in wheat and other cereals, partially explains the difference. Hard wheat contains more significant amounts of gluten than soft wheat. Consequently, the soft, fluffy bread Americans are accustomed to consuming can be baked with this resilient gluten.

What are the top wheat-producing countries?

Wheat is produced in more than 80 countries worldwide. However, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, only a few countries have the most wheat. Therefore, a list of the top 15 wheat-producing nations as of 2021 is provided.

1. China (136,952,000 Tonnes)

China is the world’s largest wheat producer. Most of China’s wheat is consumed domestically to help satisfy the expanding food demand of the country. China is the world’s greatest wheat consumer. It accounted for approximately 19% of global wheat consumption.

China’s wheat harvest is the largest globally, surpassing those of Russia and the United States by a factor of three. Beijing maintains substantial wheat reserves to ensure food security and encourages producers to keep production by raising prices. 

China has imported wheat intermittently, but imports have resumed in the last two years as domestic demand has outpaced domestic production. Therefore, a general decrease in domestic grain supplies and soaring international grain prices.

China is frequently excluded from analyses of the global grain market due to its historically low trade participation compared to its immense stockpiles and harvests. By mid-year, however, the country will control 51% of the global wheat supply.

2. India (109,590,000 Tonnes)

India is the second country that produces the most wheat. In the last 20 years, India has grown 12.5% of the world’s wheat. India, like China, keeps most of its wheat in the country because the demand for food is so high.

In 2020–21, the country made a record-breaking 109.59 million tonnes of wheat. The wheat crop’s chances have improved because of the weather and a little more land. More than 112 million tonnes will be made in full next year. India needs at least 25 million tonnes of wheat annually for its food aid program.

Last year, the government bought a record 43.34 million tonnes of wheat from domestic farms. This was more than what was needed for the welfare program.

Indian wheat is known for having a high protein level and being soft and smooth. In most Indian states, there was a lot of wheat production. India also grows wheat the way it has always been, making the food healthier.

Wheat is thought to be India’s most important food crop. Estimates say that the country has 29.8 million hectares of farmland. Wheat is usually grown between September and December as part of the Rabi season and is generally reaped between February and May.

3. Russia (76,057,258 Tonnes)

Russia produces the third most wheat of any country in the world. It is also the world’s largest producer of wheat. In 2021, the country exported more than $7.3 billion worth of wheat.

During the time of Russia and the Soviet Union, wheat stocks were used on flags, monuments, and works of art. This shows how vital the food grain was as a national symbol of plenty and wealth.

Russia has been renowned for a long time as a big wheat producer, but recently it has started sending a lot of food to the world market. During the second part of the twenty-first century, Russia bought wheat from other countries so that its people could eat and its livestock business could grow.

International politics, Russia’s typically unpredictable weather, and the ups and downs of the country’s livestock industry all had something to do with the rise and fall of the wheat industry.

Russia had to increase significantly its wheat production, which was only about 30 million tonnes per year at the turn of the century, to feed its 144 million people, support the growing livestock industry, and become the top wheat exporter in the world. 

In 2019, Egypt, Turkey, and Bangladesh bought more than half of Russia’s wheat. In 2021 and 2022, Turkey bought the most Russian wheat. As of December 30, 2021, they had bought 4.5 million metric tonnes. During the same time, Egypt bought 3.2 million metric tonnes of goods from Russia.

4. United States (44,790,360 Tonnes)

Wheat is the third most-cultivated crop in the United States, after maize and soybeans. The United States produced 44.79 million tonnes of wheat in 2021. Wheat is grown in almost every state in the United States. Kansas (7.3 million acres), North Dakota (6.5 million acres), Montana (5.5 million acres), Texas (5.5 million acres), and Oklahoma (5.5 million acres) had the most wheat-planted land in 2021. (4.4 million acres). In 2021, the average wheat yield in the United States was 44.3 bushels per acre, with Arizona, California, and Kentucky recording the highest yields.

The United States produced nearly 49.75 million tonnes of wheat in 2020, ranking it fourth globally after China, India, and Russia. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recognizes eight distinct types of wheat.

Despite competition from the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Canada, and, more recently, Ukraine and Russia, only about fifty percent of the wheat cultivated in the United States is exported. As a result, this portion of the global market has also decreased.

5. France (36,559,450 Tonnes)

France has always been an essential participant in the world grain market, meeting many different needs. In 2021, France made 36,6 million thousand tonnes of wheat. Even though it has changed significantly recently, France’s wheat supply grew from 1972 to 2021, reaching 36.6 million tonnes.

As record heat moves across the country that grows the most grains in the European Union, France, the wheat crop there is getting hurt.

6. Ukraine (32,183,300 Tonnes)

Ukraine is the sixth-largest wheat producer. In 2019, Russia and Ukraine exported over 25.4% of the world’s wheat. With seven percent of global wheat sales in 2019, Ukraine is the fifth-largest exporter globally. Agriculture occupies 71% of Ukraine’s land, making it the breadbasket of Europe. In addition, it contains a quarter of the world’s “black soil,” also known as chernozem.

Wheat was exported by Ukraine, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Bangladesh for a total of $5,1 billion. Winter wheat accounts for approximately 97% of the total wheat production in Ukraine. It is planted between the beginning and middle of November and harvested between July and September.

7. Australia (31,922,555 Tonnes)

Wheat is one of the most vital crops that are grown in Australia. Australia produced 29.5 million tonnes of grain in the marketing year 2021–2022. This is 22% more than the average for the last ten years. In 2020, about 20% of Australia’s wheat exports to China, which were worth about $2.68 billion U.S. dollars, went to China. That year, almost all of Australia’s wheat exports went to Asia.

8. Pakistan (27,464,081 Tonnes)

Pakistan is the 8th largest wheat producer. As of 2021, Pakistan produced 27,464,081 metric tonnes of wheat. Pakistan’s wheat output rose from 6,476 metric tonnes in 1971 to 27,464,081 metric tonnes in 2021. It had to import 2.2 million tonnes of wheat to meet local demand and 1 million tonnes to create strategic reserves.

In 2020, Pakistan imported wheat worth $1.01 billion, making it the 13th biggest importer in the world. In 2020, Pakistan earned $5.47M from wheat exports. In the same year, wheat ranked as Pakistan’s 247th most exported product.

9. Canada (22,296,100 Tonnes)

Canada is the globe’s ninth-largest producer. It is one of the largest producers and exporters of wheat, producing an average of over 22 million tonnes per year and exporting approximately 15 million tonnes.

10. Germany (21,459,200 Tonnes)

Germany ranked as the tenth largest wheat producer in the world. In 2022, Germany and France produced fifty percent of the wheat used in the E.U. In 2022, France produced 36.08 million metric tonnes of wheat, compared to the E.U.’s 149.5 million metric tonnes. Germany came in second position with 2021 Mmt harvested. Moreover, despite exporting only 11% and 15% of their respective outputs, France and Germany exported substantial quantities relative to the remainder of the E.U.

Between 2019 and 2022, Germany’s wheat production decreased by 1.6 MMT. While German exports peaked during the winter wheat harvest season in 2021, they increased considerably during the spring wheat harvest seasons in 2019 and 2020.

Wheat production and exports increased dramatically in 2020, reaching over 23 MMT and 4.77 MMT, respectively. However, production and exports declined progressively in 2021.

11. Türkiye (17,650,000 Tonnes)

Wheat production in Turkey reached 17,650 thousand tonnes in 2021. Wheat production in Turkey increased from 10,700,000 tonnes in 1971 to 17,650,000 tonnes in 2021.

Turkey is the biggest exporter of flour on the globe. Iraq used to be the primary export market for Turkish flour. However, as Iraq invests in its flour milling capacity, demand is expected to decrease over the future years. In response, Turkish businesses are seeking new markets in Africa.

12. Argentina (17,644,277 Tonnes)

Argentine wheat exports dropped from No. 6 globally in 2021-22 to No. 7 the following year. On January 18, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange reported that in the 2021-22 marketing year, Argentina generated a record-breaking 21.8 million tonnes of wheat. In 2018–19, 19 million kilograms were gathered, previously setting a record.

Wheat shipments from Argentina average around 13 million tonnes annually, with the majority going to Brazil.

13. Poland (11,893,550 Tonnes)

Poland is the 13th Largest wheat producer. In 2021, Poland made 11,893,550 tonnes of wheat.

in 2020, Poland sent 4,747,375 tonnes of wheat abroad. In 2019, Poland sent out a total of 2,120,871 tonnes of wheat. In 2019, the demand for wheat from Poland increased by 15.62 percent compared to the previous year.

14. Kazakhstan (11,814,124 Tonnes)

Kazakhstan produces a lot of high-quality wheat that it exports in large amounts. Average yearly production is around 11 million tons, but because the weather is so essential, production has recently increased from 10 to 11 million tonnes.

In recent years, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have come to rely on Kazakhstan for a lot of their wheat flour needs. This is because Kazakhstan has become a significant source of wheat flour. But the country’s millers still need to receive the government’s reaction to the COVID-19 crisis, which was to limit exports. 

Kazakhstan made 18.3 million tonnes of grains in 2020–21, more than the 16.5 million tonnes it made the year before. In 2020–21, there will be about 12.9 million tonnes of wheat, up from 11.5 million tonnes the year before.

15. Romania (10,433,750 Tonnes)

Romania harvested the most wheat since it joined the E.U. in 2007 and produced 11.33 million tonnes in 2021. Nearly 99 percent of the 2.2 million hectares of wheat planted for the growing season of 2020–2021 have already been harvested.

Romania reported a meager wheat harvest in 2020, comprising only 6,4 million tons, because 40% of the crop’s potential had been destroyed by drought. In 2019, however, Romania produced 10.29 million tonnes of wheat.

In 2021, rapeseed, wheat, and barley were the three-star crops that placed Romanian producers in the lead.

Here is a list of the Largest wheat producers in the world

Lastly,

Wheat is a good source of protein, vitamins, especially vitamin B, phytochemicals, fiber, and carbs.

In the 2022–2023 marketing year, more than 781 million metric tonnes of wheat were grown worldwide. It was more than it was in 2021, so it went up.

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