Bumper Wheat Crops, But Poor Quality Means High Animal Feed Supplies

Global wheat harvests are on pace to reach record levels for the third consecutive year, however adverse weather has damaged crops. Combined with low prices, wheat has been taking market share away from corn as a low-cost alternative for animal feed.

Global wheat consumption is projected to reach a record 13.3 million tons this coming year according to the latest estimates from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – mainly due to increased use for animal feed, which the agency forecasts to reach 144.42 million tons. At the same time, the USDA reduced its estimate for global coarse grain consumption by 3.3 million tons.

Livestock producers in the U.S., especially the big pork producers on the East Coast have been using more wheat in their rations, with 63,000 tons of British wheat arriving in May, while buyers in South Korea could swap out as much as 150,000 tons of corn imports for feed wheat, while Colombia and Indonesia have been increasingly opting for less expensive feed wheat as well.

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