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The Filipinos' breakfast table is not complete without Pan de Sal (or Pandesal), that rounded piece of bun, which is either dipped in coffee or taken with cheese or whatever filling is available.
Pinoys inherited their love for bread from the Spaniards during the 400 years of Spain's colonial rule of the Philippines from the 1500s to late 1890s. Spanish friars grew wheat in Cagayan Valley, Ilocos provinces and the Calatagan area in Batangas. The friars milled wheat into flour for the production of their own bread and eucharistic wafers or "Ostia" used for mass. From these friars, the Pinoys learned how to bake and consume bread. This is why most local bread products have Spanish names such as Pandesal, Ensaymada and Pan de Suelo, among others.
And here's an interesting trivia. The Philippines grew so much wheat during the Spanish time that some of these were even exported to Mexico during the Galleon Trade.
When the Americans took over in the 1900s, they brought in flour and wheat farming was abandoned. But the baking craft continued, particularly in the Batangas area. This may have been the reason why most bakers, even these days, are Batanguenos.
Filipinos loved Pandesal and other flour-based products such as pastries, noodles and pasta so much, that the country's importation of wheat kept growing each year. Wheat is the raw material for the production of flour.
Bureau of Customs' records show Philippine milling wheat imports reached 3.01 Million Metric Tons (MMT) in 2018, the highest on record, a 30.3 percent increase from 2014.
This year, this record may be broken as the trend points to a possible 3.13 MMT wheat importation by the year end, a four percent increase from last year's figures.
Fifty percent of local flour production is used up by the bakery industry; 20 percent goes into noodles; another 20 percent becomes cookies and crackers; four percent becomes pasta products while the remaining six percent goes into other products.
The Philippines imports two types of wheat —Hard Wheat and Soft Wheat. Hard wheat is milled to produce high protein wheat flour for the production of Pandesal, Loaf bread, Monay and other Filipino bread favorites. Soft wheat, the raw material for soft flour, has a lower protein content and is for the production of pastries, cakes, noodles, pancakes, muffins and other usually sweet merienda fares.
The United States supplies an average of 90 percent of the Philippine wheat requirements. This year though, Philippine US wheat imports may reach 96.7 percent due to the higher demand for flour from the baking industry, cookie manufacturers and noodle producers.
Higher per capita consumption
The Philippine wheat flour milling industry estimates the Philippine per capita flour consumption at 20 kgs per person based on the Philippine population of 106 million.
In contrast, per capita rice consumption is at 110 per kg per person.
Indonesia consumes more flour at around 33 kgs per person. Thailand and Vietnam use up just about the same amount of flour as we do.
The increasing demand for bread products has fueled the establishment of more flour mills in the country.
Since 2014, seven new flour mills have been put up by enterprising businessmen wanting to get a piece of the growing flour market, raising the number of local flour mills to 21. Twomills are reportedly being planned, one in Mindanao, the other in Visayas.
The biggest flour mill in the country is San Miguel Mills Inc., followed by the Iloilo City-based Philippine Foremost Flour Mills.
Along with Pilmico Foods Corporation in Iligan City and Universal Robina Corporation in Manila, theycomprise the top four mills in terms of market share.
The other mills are Philippine Flour Mills, General Milling Corporation, RFM Corporation, Wellington Flour Mills, Liberty Flour Mills, Morning Star Milling Corporation and Delta Milling Industries.
The new mills are Monde Nissin Corporation, Atlantic Grains, Asian Grains Corporation, Agri-Pacific Corporation, Great Earth Industrial Food Inc., New Hope Flour Milling Corporation, North Star Milling Corporation, Big C Agri Miller, Mabuhay Interflour Inc., andCalifornia Flour Group Inc.
With more mills importing wheat and producing flour, Pinoys are assured of having a plentiful supply of their favorite Pandesal and other delicious bread products.
