DDGS glut eats into wheat bran demand

Millers demand easing of wheat product exports

- SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

Hit by export restrictions and a falling demand for wheat bran due to increased popularity and supply of alternative distillers' dried grains with soluble (DDGS)—a protein-rich byproduct of ethanol production—wheat processing industry has appealed for immediate easing of export restrictions on wheat products.

The growing demand and supplies of DDGS is not just hitting the domestic soybean meal industry but also the wheat product makers, particularly bran producers whose prices have dropped sharply due to falling demand. Just as soymeal, wheat bran is also a raw material for livestock feed. But DDGS—which is high in protein and now in ample supply due to a large production of ethanol—has become the favourite feed meal ingredient for cattle, poultry and swine.