The European continent is the main wheat producer worldwide. According to official figures from the United States Department of Agriculture, the main wheat producer during the 2016 harvest was the European Union.
Its 28 member states together produced 145 million tons, which represented 19.29% of the world production of this cereal, consolidating Europe as the continent with the highest wheat production on the planet.
However, the country that stood out as the largest wheat producer in 2016 was Russia, generating more than 72 million tons of this cereal.
The analysis of the countries alone shows that Russia also led wheat exports during 2016.
Europe and the largest wheat producers worldwide
The European Union exported more than 33 million tons of wheat in 2016, closely followed by the export levels of Russia, with 24 million tons.
Russia has led the marketing of wheat and by-products of this cereal, such as wheat flour, for a couple of years, given the implementation of strong policies in favor of agricultural development in the region.
One of the factors that has led to the export of wheat from Russia has been the geographical proximity to the ports of the Black Sea.
Currently there are highly competitive freights that considerably facilitate the practice of foreign trade from that area.
Russia is the main exporter among the countries near the Black Sea. This results in Russia consolidating itself as one of the largest suppliers of product for North Africa and the Middle East.
Projections for the 2017 harvest indicate that, this year, Russia could again be in the place of honor among wheat producing and exporting countries worldwide, beating estimates for Canada and the United States.
According to statistics kept by the United States Department of Agriculture, Russia could increase wheat exports by 3% during 2017, exceeding 25 million metric tons.
For its part, Egypt stands out as the world's leading wheat importer. In the 2016 harvest, he purchased more than 11 metric tons of wheat.
This is due to the characteristics of Egyptian gastronomy: Egypt is the country that eats the most wheat in the world, and the one with the highest per capita consumption of bread.
The Top 3 of wheat importing countries are complemented by Indonesia and Algeria, with the acquisition of 9.1 and 8.1 million tons of wheat, respectively.
Turkey, Brazil, Japan, Iran, Mexico and Nigeria complete the list of the most wheat importing countries in the world.
References
- Russia to become world's largest wheat exporter in 2016 (2016). Russia Today. Moscow, Russia. Recovered from: rt.com.
- Sen Nag, O. (2017). The Top Wheat Exporting And Importing Countries In The World. Recovered from: worldatlas.com.
- Sosland, M. (2016). Opinion: How Russia became first in wheat. Kansas City, USA. Recovered from: world-grain.com.
- Terazono, E. (2016). Russia set to be biggest wheat exporter for first time. The Financial Times LTD London, UK. Recovered from: ft.com.
- Wheat World Production 2017/2018 (2017). Recovered from: produccionmundialtrigo.com.