Grain is a hard, small, dry seed that includes food plants like corn, oats, millet, wheat, rice, rye or barley. Any grain-producing plant is referred to as a grain crop and is harvested for both human and animal consumption. Cereals and legumes are the two main types of commercial grain crops. Dry grains are more long-lasting after harvest when compared to other staple foods. All cereal crops belong to the members of the grass family Phocaea. Over the years the popularity of certain grain products has increased, says Roman Dawidowicz. And due to the recent issue of Covid19, it has affected the consumption of grain products and the amount of whole grain in some products. This also has effects on the use of the whole-grain stamp. In many countries around the world and down the age’s grains and grain foods are part of healthy and hearty diets. As a result, this has led to the following:
More Whole Grain in Products
As the year goes by many consumers prefer whole grains due to their taste which is why there has been an increase in the whole grain content of foods in grocery stores. The 100% whole grain stamp on products means the product is made of whole wheat with a minimum of 16g of whole grain per serving. In the United States, for instance, the percentage of stamped products that uses 100% stamp has increased rapidly from 33% to 40% within ten years. The amount of whole-grain gram in a product have also increased and are clearly stated on each whole grain stamp. Within ten years the average gram amount for every United State stamped product has increased from 21g to 25g. Making a difference of an additional 4g of whole grain per serving within a decade.
Different Companies are Producing More Whole Grain Products
Companies from various countries have shown great interest in the whole grain stamp due to the demand for grain products from many consumers. In the last decade, there has been about a 50% increase in the number of companies that use whole grain stamps. Looking at the number of new product registrations that are being submitted every day there is no doubt the number will increase even more.
Increase Popularity of Certain Grain
The Covid19 made more people work from home with more consumers eating their breakfast at home. Companies that want to stay ahead of their competitors are working on exploring grains for innovative ideas to differentiate their breakfast products. Some grains like millet, teff, amaranth and sorghum can now be seen in ready-to-eat cereal. Grains have been very useful in producing breakfast that can be cooked as whole grain or that can be milled into flour.
With the number of products that are being registered every day along with the list of ingredients of the product submitted it becomes easy to track grains trends. Over the past ten years, there are about five different grains that are growing in popularity. The number one of the five will be quinoa as it is included in more than 10% of stamped products. Another one close to quinoa in popularity is sorghum with three times increases within a decade. Other grains in the list include millet, amaranth and tiff.
Effects of Covid19 on Futures markets Of Grains
The new fears around the Covid19 this past week has weakened the futures market. The future market is dropping due to the recent issue concerning Covid19. Though the price levels by traditional levels are still high, markets are still tight. The supply of wheat is still very less especially for milling though the demand is still strong. The European Union (EU) exports as expected continue to go strong and according to the commission forecast, the EU27 will be exporting 32.0Mt during the 2021/2022 season which is 4.6Mt more than the previous season.
This can lead to lower closing stocks which are affecting the markets. There is a possibility that supply pressures will continue as Russian exports will be increasing again. This means the market sentiment may be greatly impacted in case of any political decision.
The La Nina weather condition in Australia is a great concern as the rainfall continues to disrupt harvest. Though some think that there is still a lot of milling wheat stock that Australia could not export last year due to the pandemic. While on the other hand, Argentina seems to have experienced improving wheat yields that could ease the present global supply situation. Due to the direction the futures market is taking recently the native physical prices of grain seems to have eased back. The physical markets are based on what is more tangible which makes it to be less volatile, meaning it is very slow to fall and rise.
Conclusion
The consumption of grain worldwide is increasing rapidly due to increased population and changes in the dietary pattern of people. Roman Dawidowicz says the trends in consumption of grain are due to health trends, price, social norms, ethnicity and others.