Farm share of retail price down for all-purpose white flour

In 2015, the farm share of the retail price of all-purpose white flour—the ratio of the retail price of flour to prices received by farmers for their wheat—was 18 percent, the lowest farm share for flour in the last decade. While the retail price for all-purpose white flour has been relatively steady since 2011 at 52 to 53 cents per pound, the farm value of flour—the cost of the wheat in a pound of flour—has fallen from 14 cents in 2012 and 2013, to 12 cents in 2014, and to 10 cents in 2015. Abundant world wheat supplies have pushed down prices received by farmers for wheat in 2014 and 2015. With retail prices holding steady, the farm share of flour’s retail price fell from 26 percent in 2013 to 23 percent in 2014, and dropped again in 2015. More information on ERS’s farm share data can be found in the Price Spreads from Farm to Consumer data product, updated February 9, 2016.

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