Kansas
is one of the most important wheat-producing regions
in the world. In
fact, Kansas has been so successful at growing wheat
that the
state considers wheat one of its most important export
products, going to markets that include East Asia.
Though Kansas
is known as “the wheat state,” the wheat
plant is not native to Kansas: It was first cultivated
successfully in this region only in the late 19th century,
when European immigrants brought a variety of seed
well-suited to growing conditions in Kansas.
By the late 19th century, wheat had long been a major
staple in many other parts of the world. From its early
origins in the Middle East, wheat spread throughout Europe,
into northern Africa, and other parts of the globe, where
humans living in climates conducive to wheat production
discovered that the high nutritional content of the wheat
grain made it an efficient means of providing food to
humans. Indeed, some theories maintain that many of the
more populous areas of the world were able to develop
rapidly in part because of the nutritional base provided
by wheat.
Over the centuries, the cultivation of wheat not only
spread west but also east, via the Silk Road and other
trading routes, across Central Asia, eventually reaching
northern China, Korea, and even the islands of Japan.
Although the staple grain typically associated with the
cuisines of these nations is rice, wheat has, in fact,
played an important role in the diets of the peoples
of China, Korea, and Japan for centuries. In northern
China, wheat has traditionally served as a more important
staple than rice. Even in areas dominated by rice in
China, Japan, and Korea, wheat has been used to supplement
and add variety to the diet.
Today, countries in East Asia import wheat to satisfy
market needs unmet by domestic wheat production. The
United States has been an important source for the wheat
needs of those markets. As Asian consumers' wheat-type
preferences shift, however, U.S. wheat exporters may
need to adjust to compete with other wheat-producing
nations. Wheat producers and exporters in Kansas and
elsewhere in the United States may find it helpful to
understand more about these Asian markets–their
history, culture, consumption patterns, production, and
economic trends. Thus, our intent is to offer a brief
glimpse of wheat in East Asia–China,
Japan, and Korea–and to show the ways that Kansas
is working to meet the changing needs of those markets.
Next: Wheat in China: Introduction |
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Eating home-cooked noodles in
northern China
photo by Todd Barrett |
More about wheat:
(To read the following segments about wheat in the same order as our printed
publication, follow the link at the bottom of each page.)
Wheat in China-Introduction
Wheat in China-Consumption
Wheat in China-Production and Trade
Wheat in Korea-Introduction
Wheat in Korea-Consumption
Wheat in Korea-Production and Trade
Wheat in Japan-Introduction
Wheat in Japan-Consumption
Wheat in Japan-Production and Trade
Kansas Wheat for Asia-Production-History
Wheat Trade-Exports to East Asia
Wheat Trade-The WTO, Tariffs, and Phytosanitary Issues
Wheat Trade-GMOs
Wheat Trade-Cleanliness and Logistics
Exports in Years Ahead
Hope in Hard White Wheat
Building Better Wheat
Wide World of Wheat
Finding, Keeping and Expanding Markets
Wheat Resources
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