Commodities
US Shoppers Buy Less Bread in Bad News for Farmers
- Inflation, Ozempic are two factors behind new consumer habits
- Small batch items from the bakery aisle are holding up better
As domestic demand slips, American wheat farmers will increasingly need to look abroad to find buyers.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergAmerica’s wheat crop is making a comeback. Too bad US grocery shoppers want to buy less food made with it.
Although crop conditions for the staple grain are the best in four years, purchases of many flour-based foods have been slipping. The US Department of Agriculture expects the amount of wheat used in food this year to hit the lowest level in five years. In the fourth quarter, millers churned out the least flour for that time of year in data going back a decade, signaling demand for the baking staple isn’t quite holding up.