Heavy Rains Affect China’s Wheat Quality, Raising Attention to Feed Grain Supply and Imports

Heavy and prolonged rainfall during China’s wheat harvest season has affected grain quality in some key producing areas, according to Reuters. The report noted that up to 7% of the wheat harvest may have been affected, mainly due to sprouting, which can make part of the crop unsuitable for food-grade milling and shift more wheat into animal feed use.

The quality issue was mainly reported in central Hubei and southern Henan, both important wheat-producing regions. Although analysts still expect China’s overall wheat crop to remain large, the weather-related damage has increased market attention on grain quality, feed-use wheat availability, and possible import demand later in the year.

China had already increased wheat imports in the first four months of 2026, with imports rising 130.2% year-on-year to 2.43 million metric tons. Reuters noted that similar weather-related quality problems in 2023 had contributed to record wheat imports of 12.1 million tons.

For feed producers and animal nutrition companies, this development highlights the importance of raw material quality control, flexible formulation, and feed preservation management. When weather affects grain quality, feed mills may face greater variation in moisture, storage stability, nutrient value, and mycotoxin risk.

Source:
Reuters, “China harvest rains dent some wheat quality, may spur imports,” June 4, 2026.