WASHINGTON, DC, US — Whole wheat flour production in April-June eked out a small gain from a year earlier, according to data issued Aug. 1 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the US Department of Agriculture.  Whole wheat’s share of total flour production hit a new low during the quarter.

Production of whole wheat flour totaling 4.315 million cwts was up 26,000 cwts, or 0.6%, from 4.289 million cwts in the second quarter last year. Production in the April-June period a year ago was the recent low-water mark — the smallest total for any quarter since NASS began compiling the data a decade ago. Second-quarter production was 4.536 million in cwts 2022 and 4.866 million cwts in 2021. The recent high was 5.513 million cwts in 2015.

Second-quarter production in 2024 of 4.315 million cwts was down 8% from first-quarter outturn of 4.686 million cwts.

At 4.315 million cwts, whole wheat flour accounted for 4.1% of all flour production, down from 4.2% a year earlier and 4.4% in the first quarter of this year. At 4.1%, whole wheat flour’s share hit a new low in the 10 years NASS has been compiling whole wheat flour production statistics.

Year to date, whole wheat flour production was 9.001 million cwts, up 209,000 cwts, or 2.4%, from 8.792 million cwts in the first half of 2023. Six-month production compared with 9.786 million cwts in January-June 2022 and 9.726 million in 2021.

Whole wheat semolina production in the second quarter was 79,000 cwts, down 5,000 cwts, or 6%, from 84,000 cwts in the second quarter last year. Production was up 46% from production of 54,000 cwts in the first quarter. Whole wheat semolina production accounted for 1.1% of total US semolina production, down from 1.2% a year earlier but up from 0.7% in the first quarter. Year-to-date whole wheat semolina production was 133,000 cwts, down 29% from 188,000 cwts in the first half of 2023.