Photo credit: U.S. Wheat Associates.
A trade team visit to Ohio and Kansas helped reinforce confidence in U.S. soft red winter wheat, contributing to a Brazilian customer's first U.S. soft red winter wheat purchase of the year in mid-July.
The visit brought together four representatives from Brazil's milling and food industries to learn more about the U.S. soft red winter wheat supply chain, from production through export. Organized with support from the Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program and Kansas Wheat, the tour focused on demonstrating the consistency, functionality and reliability of U.S. soft red winter wheat for Brazilian buyers.
Brazil remains one of the world's largest wheat importers, with demand driven by bakery and biscuit products and supported by an established milling sector. Although Brazil has imported U.S. wheat for more than four decades, the market remains highly competitive because of domestic production and favorable trade access for suppliers such as Argentina and other Mercosur Agreement countries.
In 2019, Brazil implemented an annual duty-free tariff rate quota allowing imports of 750,000 metric tons, or nearly 27.6 million bushels, of wheat from countries outside the Mercosur trade bloc.
In Brazil, soft red winter wheat is commonly used in cookies, cakes and bakery flour blends, where it serves as a blending wheat to improve product consistency. Import volumes fluctuate based on freight costs, government policy and market conditions.
During the Ohio portion of the tour, the delegation evaluated the baking performance of soft red winter wheat in cookies and crackers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Soft Wheat Quality Laboratory. Participants also visited a grain elevator, toured field plots and greenhouses at The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute and met with Ohio wheat farmers to discuss production practices.
The Kansas portion of the visit focused on grain handling and commercial operations. The group toured USDA Federal Grain Inspection Service facilities to learn about grain inspection and logistics, visited the Frito-Lay factory in Topeka and met with grain trade representatives in Kansas City.
Following the visit, Bunge purchased about 15,000 metric tons, or approximately 551,000 bushels, of U.S. soft red winter wheat. The shipment marks the company's first U.S. wheat purchase of the year and will supply Mondelez industrial operations in Brazil. The purchase also could support additional U.S. wheat sales later this year.
According to U.S. Wheat Associates, discussions between the buyer and suppliers had been underway before the visit, but the trade team's experience in the United States helped strengthen confidence in U.S. soft red winter wheat and supported the purchasing decision.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates, "U.S. Wheat Trade Team Builds Market Confidence in Brazilian Customers"