Production of whole wheat flour in July-September was 4.681 million cwts, up 69,000 cwts, or 1.5%, from 4.612 million cwts in July-September 2023, according to data issued Nov. 1 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the US Department of Agriculture. Mirroring total wheat flour production, it was the third straight quarter whole wheat flour outturn topped 2023 numbers.
At 4.681 million cwts, whole wheat flour production in the third quarter was up from 2023 as well as up from 2022 at 4.63 million cwts. Third-quarter production was smaller than this year’s in every year prior to 2022, at least since NASS began tracking the data. Production was 4.974 million cwts in the third quarter of 2021 and peaked in 2015 at 6.326 million cwts.
Whole wheat flour production accounted for 4.4% of total US flour production in July-September, up from 4.3% a year earlier and up from 4.1% in the second quarter of this year.
Year-to-date whole wheat flour production was 13.682 million cwts, up 278,000 cwts, or 2.1%, from 13.404 million cwts in January-September 2023. In all prior years, nine-month whole wheat flour production was higher than 14 million cwts, including 14.416 million cwts in 2022, and peaking at 17.961 million cwts in 2015.
Whole wheat semolina production in the third quarter was 86,000 cwts, down 25,000 cwts, or 23%, from 111,000 cwts in the third quarter last year. Production was slightly greater than 79,000 cwts in April-June 2024. Whole wheat flour accounted for 1.1% of total semolina production in July-September, down from 1.5% last year but the same as the second quarter of this year.
In the first nine months of the year, whole wheat semolina production was 219,000 cwts, down 27% from 299,000 cwts in the same period of 2023.
Production of whole wheat flour excluding semolina in the third quarter was 4.595 million cwts, up 94,000 cwts, or 2.1%, from 4.501 million cwts in July-September 2022. Ex-semolina whole wheat flour production accounted for 4.6% of total flour production ex-semolina, up from 4.5% a year earlier and 4.3% in the second quarter of 2024.
Year-to-date whole wheat flour production ex-semolina was 13.463 million cwts, up 2.7% from 13.105 million cwts in the same period the year before.
