Heat, drought, and research and development: What challenges are affecting the global wheat market?

Speakers from two major players in global wheat production have shared their individual challenges at the International Wheat Congress held in Perth last week. Representatives from every wheat growing continent were invited to speak in a panel session which outlined the wheat production situation in different geographies. Professor Frank Ordon, president of the Julius Kuhn Institute in Germany, said both climate change and European Union (EU) climate targets were some of the biggest challenges affecting wheat yields. About 100 million hectares across Europe is used for cropping, with more than half used for cereal production in France, Germany, Poland, Romania and Spain. Bread wheat production accounts for 21mha, and durum wheat only 2mha. In terms of bread wheat yield, it can vary from 2.5 tonnes/ha to 10t/ha. "Onfarm yields have been stagnating for a few years," professor Ordon said. "This is one of the reasons why the Wheat Initiative has decided that a deeper insight into ...