High demand for wheat-based products spurs Swedish farmers

Coming into the 2021 harvest, Swedish farmers have invested more in wheat than a regular year – primarily due to the good conditions for autumn wheat in the autumn of 2020.

Autumn wheat is a more robust crop that copes with stress better, and wheat normally yields more than other grains. Demand for wheat-based products (such as flour and pasta) is still strong in food retail, but above all, the general demand globally is increasing. China’s increased production of pork leads to an increased need for feed grain – and China has more than doubled its imports of grain over the last year.

“The Swedish consumption of grain is an important basic precondition for Swedish farming, but exports are also of great importance. Thirty percent of the Swedish grain production is exported, providing important export income and creating stability in terms of self-sufficiency. Wheat is the largest export product, followed by malting barley and groats,” says Mikael Jeppsson, Head of the Grain Unit at Lantmännen.

The harvest begins at the end of July in southern Sweden, and Swedish farmers all over the country are now preparing for an intensive work with this year’s important harvest.

Harvest levels below average

Lantmännen’s forecast shows that this year’s Swedish grain harvest will amount to 5.6 million tonnes. Following a record-breaking autumn sowing, which is forecasted to reach normal yield, spring-sown crops appear to yield slightly lower volumes than normal due to high temperatures and disadvantageous precipitation levels. Swedish farmers have sown an unusual amount of autumn wheat coming into the 2021 harvest.

“We seem to be heading into a slightly weaker than normal harvest this year, which will be lower than the large harvests of the latest two years. As always, there are regional variations but this year they are more striking than ever. Farmers have optimized the efforts required to maximize yields based on the conditions, and we at Lantmännen look forward to taking over and handling the harvest in the best possible way. Among other things, that means preparing a large capacity for grain reception, drying and storage – and being logistically well-prepared to receive the Swedish farmers’ harvest,” says Mikael Jeppsson, Head of the Grain Unit at Lantmännen.