Profitability of wheat processing in the EU

Wheat processing is considered one of the important sectors of the EU economy.

It includes the separation of grain into components, and the further production of starch, gluten and other substances. During the processing of this culture, the starch fraction A, B, C and gluten from wheat are also obtained, which are then used to create various products. The process of such processing of this crop does not exist in all countries, and sometimes the products of this process are purchased even by those countries that export wheat, since they do not have their own processing facilities.

What you need to know about wheat processing

The main industrial way of processing wheat at the moment is called the three-phase decanter technology, which consists of three stages. At the first stage, the grain is crushed, receiving bran and flour. Then the dough is prepared in factories and separation is carried out, during which the suspension is divided into three components. This allows you to get starch, gluten, pentosan and soluble substances. This is followed by washing and thickening of starch A, also in factories gluten is sieved and dehydrated, after which soluble substances and pentosans are processed.

This complex process makes it possible to obtain raw materials for various products, both food and industrial. For example, based on the results of work, you can get citric acid, lactic acid, amino acids and vitamins. They are then used for coatings, food packaging, animal feed, and the production of threonine, enzymes, biodegradable plastics and biopolymers.

In which EU countries wheat is processed

To obtain such components, expensive capacities are required, which currently exist in the USA, EU countries and China. In Europe alone, there are 78 enterprises dealing with this technology, and the main enterprises are located in 21 countries, including Germany, France, Austria and others. The total market for the production of starches is already estimated at 67.5 million tons. It is worth noting that such technologies do not always exist in the granary countries, since they are quite expensive, and the export of unprocessed grain is more profitable for them.

Profitability

Despite the requirements for the capacity and cost of equipment, they plan to actively develop this area in the near future in countries where such technology was not available before. This is due to the fact that many countries that grow wheat inevitably require products of its processing, and therefore it will be more profitable to produce them on their own, rather than buy them out from Europe. The profitability of these processes is high – from 200,000 tons of grain, 17,000 tons of dry gluten, 30,000 tons of fructose syrup, 60,300 tons of starch, 48,600 tons of modified starch and 40,000 tons of bran can be obtained. This production is low-waste, and therefore profitable for the enterprises of the granary countries, including Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan.