U.S. flour milling dipped in 2023 according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA says 904.461 million bushels of wheat were used to produce flour last year, 3% less than the 2022 total, with flour production falling 3% to 419.998 million hundredweight.
That’s generally in line with domestic wheat production and influenced by other trends, including export business and changes to food consumption.
2024 is off to a slow start, with this year’s first quarter grind at 226.545 million bushels, just under 1% lower than first quarter 2023, but flour production was 105.532 million hundredweight, slightly less than 1% higher than a year ago.
The USDA’s next set of supply and demand estimates is out May 10.