WASHINGTON — Flour production in the second quarter of 2023 fell to 102,974,000 cwts, according to data issued Aug. 2 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the US Department of Agriculture.  Semolina production in the second quarter fell sharply.

Production in the second quarter was down 4,433,000 cwts, or 4.1%, from 107,407,000 cwts in April-June 2022 and was down 1,833,000 cwts, or 1.7%, from the first quarter of 2023.

Other than April-June 2020, an anomalous quarter because of the COVID-19 pandemic, US flour production in the most recent quarter was the smallest three-month period for any quarter in 11 years, or since mills produced 101,936,000 cwts of flour in April-June 2012.

Flour mills in the second quarter of 2023 operated at 84.4% of six-day daily milling capacity, compared with 87.6% in the second quarter last year and 86.7% in the first quarter of this year. Again excluding the second quarter of 2020, when mills ran at 81.5% of capacity, the second-quarter operating rate in 2023 was the lowest since 81.9% in July-September 2019.

Daily 24-hour milling capacity in April-June 2023 was 1,584,986 cwts, down 7,344 cwts, or 0.4%, from the second quarter last year, and down 6,000 cwts, or 0.4%, from the first quarter of this year.

Semolina production in the second quarter was 6,938,000 cwts, down 549,000 cwts, or 7%, from 7,487,000 cwts in the second quarter last year. Production was down a whopping 1,405,000 cwts, or 17%, from the first quarter of 2023. Semolina production was the smallest for any quarter in nine years, or since April-June 2014, when production was 6,611,000 cwts.

Production of flour excluding semolina in the second quarter was 96,036,000 cwts, down 3,884,000 cwts, or 3.9%, from 99,920,000 cwts in April-June 2022. From the first quarter of this year, flour ex-semolina production was down 428,000, or 0.4%.