# Wheat: Extraction

Why most wheat sleeps under snow before harvest

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/extraction/

What this tab covers How it is mined, drilled or grown, and processed into a tradeable form: the main methods compared, their unit economics, by-products, and the companies that do this work globally and in India.

Wheat was first cultivated in the Fertile Crescent more than 10,000 years ago (Geman, pdf p. 161). Winter wheat is sown in autumn, lies dormant under snow and is cut in early summer; about three-quarters of US wheat is this type (Geman, pdf p. 163). Spring wheat suits colder northern plains in Canada, the Dakotas and Siberia. Classes matter: hard red wheats make bread, soft wheats make cakes and noodles, and durum makes pasta. Post-war high-yield varieties bred under Norman Borlaug spread worldwide in the 1960s (Morgan, pdf p. 331). Milling separates flour from bran and germ, which go to feed.

Wheat grows from the tropics' cool season to the edge of the boreal forest, so farming systems vary widely. The big split is water. Irrigated wheat in India's Indo-Gangetic plain, China's North China Plain and Egypt gives steady, fairly high yields on small farms. Rainfed wheat on huge mechanised farms in Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia, Argentina and the US Plains gives low yields per hectare but cheap grain and most exports. Western Europe gets the highest rainfed yields from long, mild seasons and heavy fertiliser use. Every route ends in a flour mill, where extraction rates decide how much flour, bran and feed each tonne yields.

#### Methods compared

| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Irrigated smallholder wheat (India, China, Pakistan, Egypt)** | China and India together grew about 32% of world wheat in 2024 (FAOSTAT) | India 31.8 Mha harvested; average farm a few hectares | yields 2024: India 3.56 t/ha, Pakistan 3.27, China 5.94, Egypt 6.78 (FAOSTAT) | straw (fodder, often burned in Punjab), bran | India: cost of production Rs 1,239/quintal (A2+FL) against an MSP of Rs 2,585 for RMS 2026-27, a 109% margin (Cabinet decision, 1 Oct 2025); for RMS 2027-28 the MSP is Rs 2,610 against an estimated cost of Rs 1,264, a 106% margin (Business Today, Oct 2026) |
| **Extensive rainfed wheat on large mechanised farms (Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia, Argentina, US Plains)** | Russia, the US, Canada and Australia grew about 26% of world wheat in 2024 (FAOSTAT) | Russia 27.0 Mha and Australia 13.1 Mha harvested (2024); farms often 1,000-100,000 ha | yields 2024: Russia 3.06 t/ha, US 3.45, Canada 3.37, Argentina 2.92, Australia 2.61 (FAOSTAT) | straw | n/a |
| **High-input rainfed wheat (France, Germany, UK, Ukraine)** | EU production 145.1 Mt in 2025/26, about 17% of world output (USDA) | France 4.5 Mha harvested (2024) | yields: France 5.97 t/ha in a poor 2024 against 7.12 t/ha in 2000; Ukraine 4.60 t/ha (FAOSTAT) | straw, bran | n/a |
| **Flour milling (roller mills and chakki atta)** | applies to nearly all food wheat | industrial mills 300-1,000+ t/day; village chakkis a few hundred kg/day (indicative) | white flour 72-78% extraction; whole-wheat atta close to 100% (indicative industry norms) | bran and middlings (feed), germ | n/a |

#### How each method works
**Irrigated smallholder wheat (India, China, Pakistan, Egypt)**

Wheat follows rice or maize in a double-cropping rotation, watered by canals and tubewells. Farms are small, but seed, fertiliser and power are subsidised and governments guarantee a price. India and China both buy large shares of the crop for public stocks.

Stable yields and food security; heavy groundwater use and heat risk at grain fill in March.
 FAOSTAT 2024; Cabinet MSP decision for RMS 2026-27 (1 Oct 2025); Business Today (8 Oct 2026) **Extensive rainfed wheat on large mechanised farms (Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia, Argentina, US Plains)**

Wide seeders and combines cover thousands of hectares with few workers. Inputs per hectare are low and yields depend on rain. These countries export most of what they grow, so their weather sets world prices.

Lowest-cost export grain; output can swing 20-30% with drought.
 FAOSTAT 2024 **High-input rainfed wheat (France, Germany, UK, Ukraine)**

Long autumn-sown seasons, fertile soils and high nitrogen rates give the world's highest rainfed yields. France is the EU's biggest exporter, mainly to North Africa.

High yields; exposed to fertiliser costs and wet harvests that downgrade milling quality.
 FAOSTAT; USDA WASDE Oct 2026 **Flour milling (roller mills and chakki atta)**

Roller mills crack the grain and sift out bran and germ in stages to make white flour, semolina or maida. Indian chakki mills grind the whole grain between stones for atta. Pasta plants mill durum into semolina.

Low-margin, high-volume business; quality depends on protein and gluten strength.
 Industry norms (indicative) Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.

#### Who does it: global

| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Cargill** | US | origination, export, milling | not published | 2025 | Private company; does not publish wheat volumes |
| **Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)** | US | origination, export, flour milling | not published | 2025 | ADM reports grain volumes in aggregate, not by crop; not found in public sources checked |
| **Bunge (merged with Viterra in 2025)** | US/Switzerland | origination and export in Canada, Australia, Black Sea, Argentina | not published | 2025 | Wheat volumes not published separately |
| **Louis Dreyfus Company** | Netherlands/France | origination and export | not published | 2025 | Wheat volumes not published separately |
| **COFCO International** | China | origination in Black Sea, South America; supplies China | not published | 2025 | Wheat volumes not published separately |
| **Sinograin (China Grain Reserves Group)** | China | state reserve stockholder | not published | 2025 | Reserve volumes are not published; USDA puts all China wheat stocks at 122.2 Mt (end 2025/26) |

#### Who does it: India

| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Food Corporation of India (FCI) with state agencies** | India | MSP procurement, storage, PDS and open-market sales | 35 Mt wheat procured (over 35 Mt by early June 2026; 30 Mt in RMS 2025-26) | RMS 2026-27 | [Daily Pioneer citing Ministry of Food, 4 Jun 2026](https://www.dailypioneer.com/news/wheat-procurement-rises-to-35-mt-exceeds-target-for-2026-27) |
| **ITC (Aashirvaad)** | India | branded packaged atta | not published | FY2026 | Volume not disclosed |
| **AWL Agri Business (Fortune chakki atta)** | India | wheat flour and foods | not published | FY2026 | Volume not disclosed |
| **NAFED and NCCF (Bharat Atta)** | India | sell subsidised atta milled from FCI wheat | not published | 2023-2025 | Volume not found in sources used |

India is the second-largest grower (14.2% of world output in 2024, FAOSTAT) and is almost self-sufficient. Exports have been restricted since May 2022; USDA projects only 2.0 Mt of exports in 2026/27 against 0.24 Mt in 2025/26.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/correlation/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/links/index.md)