Milling Wheat (Bread Wheat)
11.5% & 12.5% protein, Hagberg 250+, GAFTA terms
Milling wheat is bought on four numbers, and everything else is commentary. Protein — contracted at 11.5% or 12.5% on a dry basis — sets the loaf volume the miller can achieve and is the number the price is quoted against. Test weight, or hectolitre weight, at 76–78 kg/hl tells you how much endosperm sits in a given volume and therefore the flour extraction the mill will actually get. Hagberg falling number, minimum 250 seconds and often 280 for premium grists, measures alpha-amylase activity and is the sprout-damage test: a cargo that fell below 220 will make sticky, gummy crumb no matter how good the protein looks. Moisture is capped at 13.5% because anything wetter will not hold through a warm hold. Wet gluten at 24–28% and a Zeleny sedimentation figure give the miller the quality of the protein rather than merely its quantity, which is why two 12.5% cargoes can bake very differently.
The origin decision is mostly a freight and quality trade-off. Black Sea milling wheat — Ukrainian and Kazakh — dominates the value end and moves in Handysize and Panamax parcels into North Africa, the Levant and South and Southeast Asia; it is competitively priced and generally sound on protein, but Hagberg is the number to watch in a wet harvest year. EU wheat from France, Romania and Bulgaria offers tighter and more consistent specification at a premium. Australian ASW and APW arrive with excellent falling numbers and suit buyers on the eastern lanes. CBIL brokers milling wheat against GAFTA contract forms with SGS or Intertek certification of protein, moisture, test weight, falling number and admixture at load port, and we will not quote a milling parcel without a falling number on the certificate. Send your protein requirement, your mill's minimum Hagberg and your discharge port and we will price against current-crop allocation on FOB, CFR and CIF terms.
Indicative reference
$250–310 USD / MT
as at September 2026
Reference level only — not an offer, and reviewed quarterly. Levels shown are as at September 2026. Firm pricing is quoted per RFQ, subject to volume, terms and inspection.
Typical Specification
Specifications are indicative and adjusted to the agreed contract and destination requirements. Final spec confirmed on COA / SGS.
Available Grades
Applications
- Flour milling for bread
- Industrial bakery grists
- Flatbread & chapati flour
- Blending with lower-protein wheats
- Government & institutional tenders
Category
Agriculture & Fertilizers
Incoterms
FOB · CFR · CIF
Pricing basis
USD / MT
Inspection
SGS / Intertek at load port
Milling Wheat (Bread Wheat) — buyer questions
What actually is the Hagberg falling number, and why do you insist on it?
It measures alpha-amylase activity, which is the enzyme that rises sharply when grain begins to sprout in the ear before harvest. A high falling number — 250 seconds and up — means low enzyme activity and sound baking. Below about 220 the starch breaks down during proving and you get sticky crumb and collapsed loaves. It cannot be fixed downstream and it is invisible on inspection, which is precisely why we will not quote a milling parcel without it certified at load port.
Is 12.5% protein always better than 11.5%?
No — it is better for some grists and simply more expensive for others. Pan bread and industrial high-speed lines want the higher protein for dough strength and loaf volume. Flatbreads, biscuits and many chapati flours do not, and buying 12.5% for those is paying a premium the product cannot use. Also note protein quantity and protein quality are different things: ask for wet gluten and Zeleny alongside the protein figure, because two cargoes at the same protein can bake very differently.
Black Sea or EU origin?
Black Sea is the value option and covers most of the world's price-sensitive milling demand, with generally sound protein and short freight into the Mediterranean, North Africa and Asia. EU wheat costs more and gives you a tighter, more consistent specification, which matters if your mill runs a narrow grist. The variable to watch on Black Sea in a wet harvest is falling number rather than protein.
Why contract on GAFTA terms rather than a bespoke contract?
Because the grain trade already solved this. GAFTA forms carry settled definitions of quality, weight, sampling, arbitration and force majeure that both sides understand without negotiation, and disputes go to GAFTA arbitration rather than a court in a third country. A bespoke contract on a commodity this liquid usually means someone is trying to move risk quietly.
Ready to source Milling Wheat?
Send your quantity, specification, preferred Incoterms and destination port. We'll verify supply and respond with a workable offer — usually within one business day.
Have Milling Wheat to sell? Submit an offer — we'll match it against live buyer demand.