Wheat bread is the only food product offering the human being more nutrients than any other food product in the world. Bread which is a source of carbohydrate, protein, Vitamin B and E is increasingly consumed particularly in developed countries. The demand for different varieties of bread is increasing day by day. The bread varieties, which we may call ethnic bread, which are blended with authentic delicacies of various regions, are expanding to a larger area and reaching to more consumers thanks to industrial manufacturing. The demand for bread varieties containing oat, bran and oil seeds is increasing. Besides, packaged and sliced bread is becoming more preferred in many countries, particularly in European countries such as Germany and France.
It is estimated that the demand for bread with whole grain, high-fiber and Omega-3 content will increase as a result of product innovations and developing trends related to healthcare. However, as alternative food products and different bakery products are developed, the increase in consumption of traditional bread may slow down. It is a well-known fact that consumers have tendency towards more natural, accessible and healthy products, thus increasing non-domestic consumption.
WORLD BREAD AND BAKERY PRODUCTS PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION
According to the data of The Federation of Bakers representing the bread and bakery products producers in UK, Europe is stated to have a bread market worth nearly 32 million tons in a research made through 27 countries in The European Union in 2010. Bread manufacturing is on a stable course in many European countries. However, there is a 1-2% decrease in several countries, including the UK and Germany.
Average per capita bread consumption amount in EU is reported to be 50 kg. However this amount differs in every country. Although there has been a growth of consumption in Western Europe in 2009 and 2010, the graphic remains more stable in comparison to the other regions of the world. While Germans and Australians consuming annually 80 kg bread are on the top of the bread consumption list of Western Europe, British and İrish people consuming less than 50 kg in a year are at the bottom of the list.
The structure of bread and bakery products market varies significantly across countries. For example, industrial manufacturing sector represents 80% of the manufacture in the UK, while it is 40% in Germany, 30% in France, 81% in the Netherlands and 19% in Spain. It is known that there are a total of 1000 facilities manufacturing bread and bakery products across Europe. In this number, the highest rates are in Bulgaria, the Netherlands, the UK and Finland. However, the ratio varies from 1 to 3% in Turkey and Greece. According to AIBI data, the ratio of industrial bakeries is 45%, and boutique bakeries is 55%.
The frozen dough and semi-baked products market is also remarkably expanding in Europe. The bakery inside supermarkets is becoming a growing trend, and represents 13% of bread production in the UK. Nevertheless, 80% of total bread production in the UK is fulfilled by industrial markets, while 7% is supplied by boutique bakeries.
Similarly in USA, the total retail sales amount of bread in 2010 is 21.4 billion dollars. It is specified that there is a growth of 1.6% in retail sales from 2006 to 2010. According to the data of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC), Americans prefer packaged bread. Packaged bread has a share of 65% in the bread market. Regarding the data, it is possible to say that the demand on packaged white bread decreased between 2006 and 2011.
Moreover, whole wheat bread sales outnumbered the White bread sales in 2010. The fact that producers diversified their products has a remarkable influence upon this. Following the increased self-awareness on nutrition, the minimization in high fructose corn syrup and sodium, also the production of different bread types by using ethnic ingredients influence the production and consumption graphics of bread.
Also in developing countries, it seems that bread consumption diversifies depending on various factors like dependence of wheat market to the government, the degree of the differences between urban and rural population (food preferences, differences in tendency to processed or unprocessed food) and the rate of income growth especially in China, Southern Asia and Middle East. According to the data of Euromonitor, while bread sales volume in 2005 is approximately 31 million tons, it approached to 37 million tons in 2010. Similarly, sales value of 61 million dollars in 2005 showed an increase of 14 million Dollars until 2010. However, there has been a growth of 18% in packaged products between 2010 and 2011.
WORLD BREAD AND BAKERY PRODUCTS TRADE
According to the data of the United Nations, in comparison to the previous year, an increase of 17.4% in imported bakery products has been recorded in 2008. Accordingly, total import volume of 16,454 million tons in 2006 reached to 17,713 million tons in 2008. Similarly, the unit price per ton which is 1,966 dollars increased to 2,566 dollars in 2008. The products like biscuit and cake have the biggest share with their import value of 22,770 billion dollars. Mixture, dough and infant formulas come right after with the import value of 11 billion dollars. The notable increase in number of working women in comparison to previous years and growing importance of practical options increased the need for infant formula.
The import share of EU countries in the bakery products market is quite large. 27 EU countries’ total value of import in 2006 is 16.6 billion dollars. In 2008, this amount increased to 23.5 billion dollars. Also the total share of EU countries in the market is 51.59%.
According to the data of Bakery Products Sector Report; world bakery products market showed a compound growth rate of 3.9% between 2001 and 2010. In bakery products market where Europe is dominant, Asia and Pacific area’s growth rate is 6.93%. This rapid growth is a sign of the fact that the potential in Asia and Pacific area as an emerging market catch the attention.