Rabobank: South-East Asia’s Wheat Demand is on the Rise

Utrecht / NL. (rb) Robust demand growth in both food and feed sectors across the region has put the South-East Asian market at the top of the agenda for many global grain companies, according to Rabobank’s latest report «The Wheat is On – South-East Asia’s Wheat Demand is on the Rise».

South-East Asian (SEA) demand for wheat (in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines) has grown at close to 6.2 percent annually over the past ten years, driven by higher animal protein and processed flour demand for noodles and bakery products. This growth has culminated in SEA becoming the second-largest wheat import region, after the Middle East and North Africa. Rabobank expects SEA to show consumption growth of 4.5 percent per annum over the next five years, with consumption growing, from 18.5 million tonnes in 2014/2015 to 24.4 million tonnes by 2020/2021.

«In order to service the growing South-East Asian market, Rabobank expects to see a shift towards wheat originating in the Black Sea Region», says Graydon Chong, Senior Grains + Oilseeds Analyst at Rabobank. «Due to favourable cost-competitiveness factors such as production and sea freight costs, the additional growth in wheat demand throughout SEA – particularly demand for feed wheat – is expected to be increasingly met by imports from the Black Sea Region. To successfully meet the growing demand, companies will need to navigate the significant supply chain and regulatory diversity across SEA».