WASHINGTON, DC, US – Global wheat ending stocks in marketing year 2023-24 are estimated to decline to their lowest level in eight years, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report released on Aug. 11.

In its monthly report, USDA lowered its estimate by 900,000 tonnes to 265.6 million, the lowest since 2015-16. The record high for wheat ending stocks was 297.9 million tonnes in 2019-20. This year’s projected total is still well above the lowest level this century, which was 129.1 million tonnes in 2007-08.

Extreme weather in key production regions has caused the steady drop in the past four years, as Argentina, China, the United States, India, Canada and the European Union have all dealt with droughts at different times during that period.

Global supplies were also revised downward in the latest WASDE report, dropping by 4.3 million tonnes from the USDA’s July estimate to 1.06 billion tonnes on anticipated reduced production in China, Canada and the European Union.

The report also noted that global consumption is expected to fall to 796.1 million tonnes, down by 3.4 million from the previous estimate, primarily due to lower feed and residual use in the European Union and a drop in food, seed and industrial use in China.