White wheat is being heavily purchased by China, but not for its usual purpose. The U.S. has five major wheat classes. Hard Red Winter (HRW) is the largest by production and has high protein and strong gluten. Durum has the lowest production but is also a high gluten product. Two-thirds of wheat futures contracts are traded in Soft Red Winter even though it is a relatively minor wheat class. It serves as a proxy for overall wheat. Soft white, or white wheat is predominantly grown in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and has two sub-classes plus two different growing seasons, both winter and spring varieties. It is heavily used in Asian-style noodles, and bakery products like sponge cakes and pastries. But China has been buying larger amount...
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