Wheat produces flour for bread, pasta, pastries, cakes and cookies. It’s used in crackers, noodles, cereals, pretzels, animal feed and even some biodegradable packaging materials. While not everyone can eat wheat because of gluten intolerance, much of the world’s population depends on it. As a result, wheat trade is a key component of global commodity flows, representing around 10% of agricultural trade.
Global wheat production is dominated by transnational companies (TNCs), including Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus (the so-called ‘ABCD’ group). These agribusiness giants are responsible for about 80% of global wheat trade. Major wheat-growing regions include Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Ukraine, India, Russia and the USA. In total, about 15% of the world’s farmland is dedicated to wheat production.
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