Wheat is a highly-nutritional and widely-cultivated cereal grain. For over 7 centuries, wheat has been raised and harvested in many countries around the world.
It’s one of the world’s most important crops and holds the title of the second most produced grain in the world, beaten only by corn. Over 750 million metric tons of wheat were produced in 2017/18 worldwide.
It’s also consumed more than any other grain in the world except for rice and provides 20% of the global population’s daily protein intake.
The reason that wheat is such an important dietary staple across so many regions is due to its ability to be produced in many different types of soils and climates.
To help traders to learn more about this important global agricultural commodity, TFG has prepared this guide on everything you need to know about wheat.
There are many different varieties of wheat, each of which has different protein contents and kernel colours.
There are two primary categories: winter wheat and summer wheat, which are classified based on their growing season. They’re then sub-categorised based on hardness, colour, and shape. You can find information on these subcategories in the table below.
| Type of Wheat | Properties |
| Soft red winter wheat | This type of wheat has baking properties which make it suitable as an ingredient in baked goods like cakes, pastries and cookies. |
| Hard red winter wheat | This type of wheat is grown in low temperatures and snow-covered regions. It has high protein content and is used for products like general purpose flour, flatbreads and cereals. It’s also the most important type of wheat produced in the United States. |
| Hard red spring wheat | This type of wheat is produced in hot, dry climates. It’s gluten characteristics make it a good choice for use in food products like bagels, croissants and pizza crusts. |
| Soft white wheat | Sweeter and softer than other types of wheat. It’s low in protein and gluten which makes it great for more exquisite pastries and cakes, as well as Asian noodles |
| Hard white wheat | This type of wheat has slightly less protein and is less bitter than hard red wheat. It’s used in softer loaves such as pan loaves. |
| Durum wheat | This type of wheat has more protein than any other type and is used to make pasta. |
Processing demand survey
x