US flour production falls to 12-year low

US flour production in 2023 fell to a 12-year low, according to data issued Feb. 1 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the US Department of Agriculture. In the final quarter of 2023, flour production was the smallest since 2010. At 419.757 million cwts, production last year was down 10.527 million cwts, or 2.4%, from the record 430.284 million cwts in 2022. It was the smallest annual total since 411.745 million cwts of flour were milled in 2011. For most of the period between 2012 and 2021, flour production annually hovered within 1 million cwts of 425 million each year. The year-to-year decrease of 10.5 million cwts in 2023 was the largest annual drop in 22 years, or since 2001 production dropped 16.759 million cwts from the year before. Wheat grind in 2023 was 903.938 million bushels, down 2.7% from 928.615 million the year before. Millfeed production was 6,526,221 tons, down 205,750, or 3.1%, from 6,731,971 tons in 2022. Daily 24-hour flour milling capacity in ...