Milling wheat for exports

Find out how the ukp and uks classifications help overseas buyers understand the quality characteristics of UK-grown wheat.

There is a core overseas market for UK-grown quality wheat.

There are many things to consider before accessing these markets, beyond the distance of a farm to a suitable port.

In particular, the requirements of overseas markets differ to the domestic wheat market.

As overseas buyers may be unfamiliar with UK varieties, AHDB introduced the ukp (hard bread wheat) and uks (soft biscuit wheat) classifications in 2004.

These provide information on the typical specifications associated with key quality characteristics that are important in overseas markets (Table 1).

The classifications cover similar quality characteristics to those associated with UKFM milling wheat groups:

• Minimum specific weight (kg/hl)
• Maximum moisture content (%)
• Maximum admix (%)
• Minimum Hagberg Falling Number (HFN; s) 
• Protein content (%)

Additionally, they provide specifications for W and P/L values (determined by a Chopin Alveograph test), where:

• W measures the baking strength of a dough (a higher number represents a stronger flour)
• P measures the maximum pressure required to burst a dough bubble
• L measures the extensibility of a dough (time taken for a bubble to burst)

A low P/L measure represents a dough that is very extensible with low strength.

The AHDB Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds indicates varieties that are more likely to meet ukp or ukp specifications.

Table 1. Typical specifications for ukp and uks wheat

From 2026, wheat varieties will not be tested for export suitability under the ukp classification.

The testing is no longer considered to provide value for levy payers.

The decision follows consultation with traders, which indicated that volumes of hard milling wheat exports from the UK are now very low and the ukp classification no longer added significant value.

Varieties classified as ukp on RL 2026/27 will retain this status until they are removed from the winter wheat list.

New soft wheat varieties will continue to be tested for export suitability under the uks brand.