Durum Wheat Market Data, Grades and Trade

Editorial evidence reviewedReviewed 2026-09-11Release 2026-09-19-batch-230

Market value

$11.3B

Producing countries tracked

9

Grading systems

1

Active supply risks

3

Trade corridors

3

Latest reviewed evidence

The crop figures below are USDA NASS 2025 United States estimates, while the class and grade figures are USDA AMS grain standards. Crop statistics and grade limits serve different purposes. Neither establishes current lot availability, a current futures value, a physical offer, physical basis or a delivered durum price.

United States durum area planted

2.185

million acres · 2025 estimate

United States durum area harvested

2.123

million acres · 2025 estimate

United States durum yield

40.6

bushels per acre · 2025 estimate

United States durum production

86.223

million bushels · 2025 estimate

Hard Amber Durum vitreous-kernel minimum

75

percent · USDA official subclass threshold

Amber Durum vitreous-kernel minimum

60

percent · USDA official subclass threshold

U.S. No. 1 all-other-classes test-weight minimum

60

pounds per bushel · USDA official grade requirement

Durum grain, semolina, flour, pasta and planting seed are separate products

USDA defines Durum wheat as the Triticum durum class within the U.S. wheat standards. Grain can be milled into semolina or flour and then manufactured into pasta, but those processed forms are not interchangeable with the original grain. Planting seed adds varietal identity, germination, purity and treatment evidence. Atlas keeps product stage and intended use explicit before comparing production, quality, trade or price evidence.

Subclass and numerical grade describe different quality dimensions

USDA divides the Durum class into Hard Amber Durum at 75 percent or more hard and vitreous kernels of amber color, Amber Durum at 60 percent or more but less than 75 percent, and Durum below 60 percent. Numerical grades separately apply test weight and limits for heat damage, total damaged kernels, foreign material, shrunken and broken kernels, total defects and wheat of other classes. A subclass name does not establish the numerical grade, protein, falling number, DON result or contract fitness.

The current U.S. crop record is dated supply evidence

USDA NASS estimated 2.185 million U.S. durum acres planted and 2.123 million harvested in 2025, with a 40.6-bushel-per-acre yield and 86.223 million bushels of production. North Dakota accounted for 53.240 million bushels and Montana 25.500 million in that table. These dated production estimates describe crop scale; they do not prove current stocks, export availability, lot quality or destination economics.

Futures references and physical durum prices remain separate

A futures or reference-market value is an anchor, not the price of an unspecified durum lot. A physical delivered comparison needs origin, crop year, subclass, grade, test weight, moisture, vitreous kernels, dockage, defects, protein and other agreed tests, lot quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window, freight and information vintage. Atlas withholds an unsupported physical-price result when current permitted lot and route observations are missing.

Questions procurement teams ask

Is durum wheat the same product as semolina or pasta?

No. Durum wheat is the grain class; semolina and flour are milled products, pasta is manufactured, and planting seed has separate varietal and germination requirements.

What distinguishes Hard Amber Durum from Amber Durum?

Under the reviewed USDA standard, Hard Amber Durum has at least 75 percent hard and vitreous kernels of amber color. Amber Durum has at least 60 percent but less than 75 percent; Durum below that threshold forms the third subclass.

What does 86.223 million bushels represent?

It is USDA NASS's 2025 estimate of total United States durum production. It is dated crop evidence, not current export availability or a price for a specified physical lot.

Which fields make physical durum grain offers comparable?

Subclass and grade, origin and crop, test weight, moisture, vitreous kernels, dockage, defects, protein and other agreed tests, lot and quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and evidence date.