There was a time when many things could be missing from the tables of Spanish homes, but never bread. Never that. The bar was an indispensable part of food, one of its pillars, so firm that it even ended up leaving its mark on the proverb. Things have changed and now it is increasingly difficult to find bread in homes at meal time. And for example, a button: its per capita consumption (at least domestic consumption) has plummeted in the last decade.
The big question is… Why?
Less bread at home. On Spanish tables and cupboards it is increasingly difficult to find loaves of bread. Although for a long time they were one of the pillars of nutrition (so much so that it has crept into popular proverbs), households seem to be turning their backs on them little by little. And no one really knows why.
The last reminder of the extent to which we have lost interest in bread was left yesterday by the EfeAgro agency in a chronicle that begins with a revealing fact: on average a Spaniard consumes 25% less today than just a decade ago.
Has consumption dropped that much? To answer that question, it is good to take a look at the data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. To be more precise, the figures from their consumption panel, in which they detail “the food consumption data in Spanish households.” The nuance is important because its results basically show domestic behavior, purchases and consumption that are made within the home, not in the extra-domestic channel.
When the data on bread is analyzed, the reading is clear: today we consume less (much less) than a few decades ago. And as a figure always says more than a long explanation, here is a table with the evolution of demand. The data show annual per capita consumption measured in kg, although one detail must be clarified: the concept “bread” has remained unchanged in the historical series, but not its different classifications, which have changed, combining concepts such as “fresh bread”, “unpackaged” or “industrial bread” and “packaged”.
|
Bread (total) |
fresh bread |
Pan industrial |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
1990 |
56,4 |
52,9 |
3,5 |
|
2000 |
50,1 |
46,4 |
3,7 |
|
2010 |
36,3 |
30,8 |
5,5 |
|
2020 |
32,8 |
26 |
6,8 |
|
2024 |
27,4 |
21,5 |
5,9 |
looking back. The drop is even more pronounced if we broaden the focus and look at how Spaniards behaved in the 60s and 70s. Although the calculation criteria may have varied, data from the Ministry of Agriculture show that in 1964 the “consumption of bread-making cereals in Spain” was around 92.5 kg per inhabitant per year. In the 70s that average was already 76.6 kg.
The latest yearbook published by the Government, with data as of the end of 2024, shows that total per capita consumption of bread fell in the country by 0.2% compared to the previous year, although this decrease was not generalized: consumption of normal fresh bread ‘punctured’, while demand for whole grain, unsalted and industrial bread grew.
Is it all negative data? No. The Ministry of Food recently published a report with data for the year between August 2024 and July 2025 that shows that bread purchases have generally increased by 3.9% during that period, leaving annual per capita consumption at 27.8 kilos.
It is still significantly below the 34.9 kg of 2015, but still represents an increase. Bread can also boast an almost absolute level of penetration in Spanish homes, reaching more than 99.8%, and generates a business worth billions of euros each year. To be more precise, the data accumulated between August 2024 and July 2025 speak of 3.4 billion.
Searching for the causes. The big question at this point is… Why do we consume less bread at home today than a few decades ago? EfeAgro recalls that in the last ten years its Price has risen by almost 29%, although CPI data for September show that at least in the last year it remained below the general price index: 1.2% compared to the global price index of 3%.
The drop in consumption seems to respond more to changes in consumption habits: a greater availability of alternatives to bread, a more varied diet, an increase in consumption in places outside the home… “There has been a downward trend for years in Spain, it must be taken into account that when societies become more prosperous, consumption is reduced and other sources begin to be used,” explained 2022 to The Spanish Jorge de Saja, from the Spanish Association of the Bakery, Pastry and Pastry Industry. Another key point from the sector is the increase in more satiating variants (such as whole wheat).
“Don’t eat bread”. There are those who provide another explanation for the drop in bread consumption: “The perception that it is a food that can make you fat,” they lament from Asemac. Ángeles Carbajal Azcona, from the Department of Nutrition at the Complutense University of Madrid, also remembered this in 2016 in an article in which, citing other authors, he recalled that the “dietary advice” of some specialists for losing weight is: “Don’t eat bread.”
“Epidemiological studies that try to look at the relationship between bread consumption and body weight usually see that people who consume bread more frequently have a greater risk of obesity, diabetes and weight gain,” Jordi Salas-Salvadó, professor, clarified in 2024. The Country. “The problem is that these studies are done with current bread, which is not the same as traditional bread, with sourdough and long fermentation: bread has a high glycemic index, but artisanal bread has more fermentation process and that makes the glycemic index lower.”
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