Global Trends in Wheat Production, Consumption and Trade

Abstract

Since its domestication around 10,000 years ago, wheat has played a crucial role in global food security. Wheat now supplies a fifth of food calories and protein to the world’s population. It is the most widely cultivated crop in the world, cultivated on 217 million ha annually. This chapter assesses available data on wheat production, consumption, and international trade to examine the global supply and demand conditions for wheat over the past quarter century and future implications. There is continued urgency to enhance wheat productivity to ensure global food security given continued global population growth and growing popularity of wheat based processed foods in the Global South. To enhance productivity while staying within planetary boundaries, there is a need for substantive investments in research and development, particularly in support of wheat’s role in agri-food systems in the Global South.