Wheat production in the world higher than demand

The amount of wheat planted in the world continues to go up and is starting to overwhelm the economy.

Reports from the Texas A&M AgriLife Agency show the wheat stocks to end this marketing year were below last years in the United States, and the wheat planted this year was the lowest in the 100 year data entry.

Texas A&M AgriLife Economist Mark Welch says the increase in foreign competition plays a role in the wheat overload.

“It’s major export competition in terms of total production globally,” said Welch. “We produce below 7 percent of the world’s wheat crop, so it is continued to be dominated by our foreign competitors.”

Much of the United States has developed other crops that do well in wheat growing areas.

“We are able to grow soybeans and corn in some areas that used to be strong wheat producing regions of the country,” said Welch.

Welch says higher prices of other crops such as soybeans and corn have been another tough obstacle to the wheat industry in the United States.

“What’s happening is even though the United States’ overall production is down, the world production is in increase,” said Texas A&M AgriLife Agent David Graf.

In 1980 there was over 80 million acres of wheat planted, now down to only 45 million acres.

“We’re a world market now,” said Graf. “It used to not be that way.”

One thing about having so much imported wheat, is that it is not allowing prices to go up.

The world’s supply continues to exceed the world’s demand.