Wheat is a cereal of the Gramineae family and represents the greater part of cereal production at Sociedad Cooperativa Andaluza Campo de Tejada. Specifically, in the case of durum wheat, it represents 80%.

Durum wheat is characterised by a high protein content. A semolina with a high gluten value is obtained from this wheat which is ideal for the elaboration of pasta, such as spaghetti, macaroni, etc. Its grains of starch are hard and do not break during milling, making it ideal for foods of this type.

Our durum wheat producers follow a sowing process which is favoured by our environmental conditions, with rich soils that facilitate the task. The first step is

sowing, which begins in November or December. The crop then develops, between early and mid-December, a process which continues until the appearance of the ears of wheat in the month of April. As from that moment, the cereal ripens in the fields.

Once the ear has emerged and fertilisation has occurred, the following step is the creation and filling of the grain.

The sowing rate used by our durum wheat producers is between 220 and 230 kilos of seeds per hectare.

As regards volume, production of common wheat in Spain is much higher than that of durum wheat. Common wheat production is between twelve and fourteen million tonnes, while between 970,000 and 1,200,000 tonnes of durum wheat are produced. Statistics show that Spain exports durum wheat, but has a deficit in common wheat. The common wheat produced by our Cooperative is different from the rest produced in Spain for two fundamental reasons: the typical climate of the area and the richness of the soil. Both factors have a

decisive effect on the morphological characteristics and on the taste and aroma of the common wheat.

The average sowing rate used by our common wheat producers is 220-230 kilos of seeds per hectare.

Our crop, unlike the durum wheat, is not destined for just one industrial customer, but is distributed to different flour manufacturers throughout Spain.