WASHINGTON — Flour production in the first quarter of 2025 was 106,367,000 cwts, up 835,000 cwts, or 0.8%, from 105,532,000 cwts in January-March 2024, according to data issued May 1 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the US Department of Agriculture. It was the fifth straight quarter flour outturn exceeded production of the year before.

First-quarter flour production this year was down 964,000 cwts, or 0.9%, from 107,331,000 cwts in the last quarter of 2024.

Based on a six-day week, mills produced 1,400,000 cwts of flour per day in the first quarter of 2025, up 1,371,000 from a year earlier and 1,394,000 cwts in the final quarter of 2024.

US flour mills during the first quarter operated at 87.4% of six-day capacity, up from 85.2% in January-March 2024 and topping 87.1% in October-December.

Daily flour production capacity of US flour mills in the first quarter was 1,601,217 cwts, down 6,825 cwts, or 0.4%, from a revised 1,608,042 cwts in the first quarter of last year. Capacity in January-March 2024 was revised upward by 2,656 cwts. First quarter capacity was left unchanged from October-December 2024. The latter figure was revised upward 2,700 cwts.              

Production of semolina in the first quarter of 2025 was 8,373,000 cwts, up 335,000 cwts, or 4.2%, from 8,038,000 cwts a year earlier and up 123,000 cwts, or 1.5%, from 8,250,000 cwts in the fourth quarter of last year.

Flour production ex-semolina was 97,994,000 cwts in January-March, up 500,000 cwts, or 0.5%, from 97,494,000 a year earlier but down 1,087,000 cwts, or 1.1%, from 99,081,000 cwts in the prior quarter.

Whole wheat flour production in the first quarter was 4,494,000 cwts, down 192,000 cwts, or 4.1%, from 4,684,000 cwts a year earlier.