News Grains & Commodities
Price is the bottleneck for Dutch baking wheat
The project to increase the share of baking wheat grown in the Netherlands in our bread is already facing its biggest challenge after the first year. The crux is setting up the compensation system for Dutch baking wheat. In other words: what quality requirements must the wheat meet and how can the additional price for the grower be borne by the other links in the chain. However, skeptics fear that Dutch baking wheat will have to continue to compete with cheaper foreign alternatives.
This emerged on Monday at the Grains Theme Day, organized by the Committee of Grain Traders and the BO Arable Farming, in Rotterdam. Project leader Erik Reijnierse, researcher from Wageningen UR, gave an update to a select group from the Dutch grain chain about the initiative started last year, in which twenty chain parties have joined forces to get more Dutch baking wheat into bread. €3,6 million has been allocated for this four-year project, under the guise of 'Going for your own grain'. “Everyone is motivated to achieve the goal,” says Reijnierse. "Increasing the self-sufficiency of Dutch baking wheat in the milling, flour and bread chains. Becoming less dependent on foreign grains."
Requires commitment from all links in the chain
Dutch bakers can certainly make bread from their own grain, Reijnierse confirms the question. The share of Dutch baking wheat in the bread chain now fluctuates around 20%. Communication and mutual understanding between all links in the bread chain is essential, says Reijnierse based on his first impressions of the chain analysis. "Increasing the share of our own baking wheat is conditional on all links in the chain being committed to this. And also looking further at the needs and knowledge of the other chain partners."
The crux for the success of the project is an effective compensation system for Dutch baking wheat, Reijnierse answers when asked where the biggest challenge lies. "The grower has to make extra efforts and runs additional risks, such as with weather conditions, to achieve optimal baking quality of the wheat. A grower is quite inclined to make an effort if he is rewarded for it." The trick is therefore to develop a system in which the grower receives a fair price, but in which the buyer and other parties can absorb these extra costs in the chain.
Protein quality is more decisive for Dutch baking wheat
A study therefore examined what the conditions could be for a favorable positioning of Dutch baking wheat in the chain. It is - almost self-evident - the price and quality. To achieve this, baking wheat must compete with not only baking wheat from abroad, especially from France, but also Dutch feed wheat and - looking at the grower's menu of options - other crops. For a better appreciation of wheat, Reijnierse advocates a different assessment of quality. "The grower is now mainly judged on the protein content of wheat. That should not actually be decisive, it is better to pay attention to the protein quality. After all, the composition of the protein plays a major role in the baking quality and the dough."
Such changes require support from the entire chain, Reijnierse realizes. The chain study must clarify how an effective quality system can be set up and what compensation should be provided in return. The potential of Dutch baking wheat is also mapped out in terms of volume, for example for processing into flour and flour, and how the other links in the chain, such as the baker, value the Dutch raw material in terms of quality and cost price. In terms of cultivation, the baking wheat is well pre-sorted, with good baking wheat varieties available.
Price remains a bottleneck for large-scale rollout
The price remains the biggest bottleneck towards a large-scale rollout, as was evident from the responses to the theme day. "Can we compete financially with Dutch baking wheat on the international grain market?" asks Jan-Willem Baas, chairman of the Committee of Grain Traders. Other participants also comment on the competitiveness of baking wheat. If the price difference becomes too great, buyers may be tempted to opt for cheaper foreign baking wheat or settle for lower quality wheat at a lower price. "Due to the cost price, Dutch baking wheat remains a niche in the market," one of them summarizes powerfully.
There is certainly a market for baking wheat, explains Bauke Wierda, sourcing manager at Royal Koopmans. Koopmans is the initiator of the Nedertarwe project, a partnership in the chain for sustainably grown baking wheat in our country. Growers receive a premium of €20 per ton for this. "Let me first say, every party in the chain has its own specialization or segment. But we are enthusiastic about Dutch baking wheat," says Wierda. "It runs like clockwork for us."
The chain project for Dutch baking wheat will run until mid-2027. During the theme day it became clear that plans are also being made to set up a similar chain project to promote the cultivation of Dutch brewing barley as a raw material for the beer chain.
Eric the Thrush
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