World wheat producers in 1991–2024 – video by Experts Club

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Ukraine ranked 9th in the world in wheat production in 2024, producing about 23.4 million tonnes of grain. These figures are presented in a new study Experts Club based on FAOSTAT statistics and the video “Wheat Production by Country (1991–2024).”

The top three largest producers traditionally remain stable:
China — 136 million tonnes,
India — 113.9 million tonnes,
Russia — 81.6 million tonnes.

These three countries account for almost half of global wheat production, playing an important role in the global agricultural system.

Next come:
USA — 53.6 million tonnes,
France — 35.9 million tonnes,
Canada — 35.9 million tonnes,
Australia — 34.1 million tonnes,
Pakistan — 31.4 million tonnes,
Ukraine — 23.4 million tonnes,
Germany — 21.5 million tonnes.

The second ten is opened by Turkey (19 million tonnes) and Kazakhstan (18.6 million tonnes) and closed by Italy (6.9 million tonnes).

The video analysis Experts Club shows substantial structural changes in global wheat production over the past three decades. The video covers the period from 1991 to 2024. China and India nearly doubled their output over this time thanks to higher yields and steady government support for the agricultural sector.

Russia and Ukraine, after the deep slump of the 1990s, made a noticeable leap: whereas in the early 1990s Ukraine produced about 15 million tonnes, by 2024 the volume had grown to 23–24 million tonnes — despite war risks and export restrictions.

Kazakhstan, traditionally export-oriented, steadily holds its position, supplying grain to Central Asia and part of China.

Despite hostilities and the destruction of part of its infrastructure, Ukraine retains its status as one of the world’s largest wheat exporters. The main factors behind this are high yields in the southern and central regions, improved logistics at the Danube ports, and export routes through Romania and Bulgaria.

According to the FAO, Ukrainian wheat exports in 2024 amounted to about 17 million tonnes, which allowed the country to remain among the world’s three largest grain suppliers — alongside Russia and the United States.

Experts Experts Club note that production growth in Asia and the CIS countries offsets the decline in yields in Europe and North America caused by droughts and climate change. At the same time, the role of Turkey, Iran and Egypt as regional processing and import hubs is growing.

Global markets expect wheat prices to stabilize in the range of 230–250 dollars per tonne, provided there are no new geopolitical shocks.

“Ukraine’s place in the TOP 10 of the world’s wheat producers is an indicator of the resilience of the agricultural sector even in wartime. With the development of domestic processing, Ukraine is capable of reaching 25–27 million tonnes of output in the coming years and strengthening its position among the world’s top five exporters. The grain market is becoming increasingly technological: the digitalization of agribusiness, precision farming and climate-resilient wheat varieties will determine leadership in the next decade,” said the co-founder of the analytical center Experts Club Maksym Urakin.

Ukraine remains one of the few countries where the agricultural sector generates about 40% of foreign currency earnings. In 2024, wheat ranked second in export volume after corn, and revenues from grain sales exceeded $6 billion.

According to forecasts Experts Club, provided the pace of infrastructure recovery and favorable weather conditions are maintained, wheat production in Ukraine in 2025 could reach 25 million tonnes, and exports could exceed 18 million tonnes.

The study was prepared by the analytical center Experts Club based on data from FAOSTAT, USDA and IGC.
The video analysis “Wheat Production by Country 1991–2024” is available on the YouTube channel Experts Club Ukraine.