France, Europe’s top wheat producer, is increasingly importing flour, according to data from French millers.
In 2025, France produced nearly 4 million tonnes of flour exclusively from French wheat. This represented 11% of Europe’s flour production, making France the continent’s second-largest producer after Germany.
Last year, France exported 204,000 tonnes of flour but imported 420,000 tonnes, primarily from Germany and Belgium. The imports have surged by 45% over the past two years, French millers reported.
Jean-François Loiseau, chairman of the French millers’ association, noted that France has a strong tradition of bakers using 100% French flour, produced by hundreds of local mills, to create bread of unmatched quality.
However, supermarkets increasingly buy cheaper flour for their store brands, predominantly sourced from Germany, Italy, Romania, and Bulgaria. In 2025, imported flour accounted for 11% of France’s consumption, a trend millers warn could threaten the viability of domestic milling operations due to price pressures.
