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Nigerian Trade Team Connects with Kansas Wheat Supply Chain
As all eyes are watching the progression of the Kansas wheat harvest, two leaders from one of Nigeria’s largest flour milling companies traveled to the Sunflower State for a firsthand peek at the harvest and to discuss global trade dynamics and wheat breeding innovations. Kansas Wheat organized the team’s time in Kansas from June 14 to 16 as part of a larger trade mission organized by U.S. Wheat Associates (USW).
While in Kansas, the team toured the IGP Institute and the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center to discuss global trade dynamics and demand drivers and to see firsthand the advancements happening with wheat breeding technology. The team also took a quick stop by the K-State agronomy fields north of campus to check out the ripe wheat.
Before departing for their next stop, the team met with the grain trade based in Kansas City and toured the Great Plains Analytical Laboratory.
“In competitive markets like Nigeria, there is nothing more valuable than connecting the leading flour mills directly with the people working in the U.S. wheat supply chain,” said Domenique Opperman, USW regional program and marketing specialist for the Sub-Saharan Africa Region, who accompanied the team to Kansas. “These face-to-face interactions allow global buyers to gain firsthand insights that reinforce the value that U.S. wheat brings to their operations.”
Nigeria is the largest buyer of U.S. wheat in Sub-Saharan Africa. U.S. wheat sales expanded sharply in the 2025/2026 marketing year, hitting 1.65 MMT (60.7 million bushels) – more than double the prior year and ranking Nigeria as the fifth largest market for U.S. wheat.
The pace of commercial sales to Nigeria was sustained throughout the marketing year, despite strong world supplies and cheaper alternative origins – often at a 15 to 25% discount – in the latter half of the marketing year. While still below export levels from 15 years ago, continued purchases throughout the marketing year underscore the country’s role as an opportunistic destination for quality U.S. wheat amid shifting West African sourcing patterns and strong milling demand.
Notably, while the majority of these purchases were for U.S. hard red winter (HRW) wheat, Nigeria also purchased more than 68,000 MT (2.5 million bushels) of U.S. hard white (HW) wheat. U.S. wheat is used predominately in a dense, high-volume loaf of bread in addition to increasingly popular pasta products.
“Nigeria is a substantial, but price-sensitive market where U.S. wheat farmers must compete against all of the other world exporters,” said Justin Gilpin, Kansas Wheat CEO.
“Nigerian flour millers are looking for wheat that can withstand variable conditions and produce the same high-volume loaf of bread or batch of pasta time after time. Kansas HRW and HW are valued by these millers for their high consistency and good protein.”
After leaving Kansas, the team is also touring the wheat supply chain in North Dakota and Minnesota as part of their fast-and-furious travels across the United States. They will take all they have learned back to Nigeria, armed with the insights they need to make informed purchasing decisions in the upcoming year.