Harvest

Around 80-85% of the wheat used by millers is grown in the UK, with the remainder being imported mainly from Canada, France and Germany.  So the quality and size of the UK wheat crop is very important to the flour milling sector, which uses up to 5 million tonnes of home-grown wheat a year.  Extensive testing of the crop is undertaken in August and September in order to assess its quality and regional variations. Results are published by the HGCA (Home-Grown Cereals Authority), normally in November.  Quality is affected by a number of factors including the variety of wheat planted, the growing conditions during the season and the weather at harvest, meaning that there can be considerable variations from year to year.