Global wheat consumption 2021/22, by country

In the 2021/2022 marketing year, the top consumers of wheat globally were China, the European Union, and India. China consumed almost 150 million metric tons of wheat that year. Wheat consumption worldwide is slowly increasing, growing by about seven percent since 2018/2019.

Wheat production and trade

Not only do they consume the most wheat, but China, the EU, and India are also the leading producers of wheat worldwide. The European Union led global production, with about 139 million metric tons in 2021/2022. Despite being a top producer, China also imports a great deal of wheat. In 2020, China imported about 2.3 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of wheat. Egypt, however, has been the leading importer of wheat worldwide for the last several years.

Wheat price

Prices around the world have risen as of 2022. Many believe that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is to blame for the rising wheat prices and others believe it is the speculation of an impending food crisis that is driving up demand. The price of the most common variety of wheat grown in the U.S., hard red winter wheat, reached an all-time high in May 2022, reaching over 522 dollars per metric ton. Globally, the real household income is expected to decline by about 1.57 percent due to the increased cost of wheat and corn. Some countries will experience a decline of over five percent, showing the real impact that growing prices have on consumers across the world.