Quality of new crop wheat is better than last year – SGS Ukraine

In the current year, the general harvest of wheat in Ukraine exceeded 26 mln tonnes, which increased the export potential of the grain. To date, the qualitative parameters of the grain of the harvest-2016 and the possibility of its exports are the most significant issues for agrarians. The manager of technical matter and claims department of the agro-industrial complex at SGS Ukraine, Oleg Onishchenko reported about the results of monitoring of the qualitative indices of new crop wheat and barley specified for exports.

The business-project "Quality map of grains of the harvest-2016" based on the results of monitoring of 562 wheat samples taken from the grain harvest volumes in all regions of Ukraine before any treatment works. According to the statistics figures within frames of the project, the average protein content in soft wheat totaled 11.97%, an increase of 0.6-0.7% compared with the last year level. At the same time, before the beginning of the harvesting campaign the company experts forecasted the index at 12.2%. Also, the experts forecasted the content of crude gluten at 23.4%, taking into account heavy precipitations in the period. But according to the quality map, the average crude gluten content reached 22.9%, which corresponds to the average index of the harvest-2015.

Therefore, wheat of the harvest-2016 is much better by protein content compared with last year, but it remained at the same level by crude gluten content. So, the ratio between protein and crude gluten content significantly worsened compared with the harvest-2015.

In terms of comparing the quality map figures, the parameters of grain harvests in the current year and last year formed the following results:

- results of the average natural weight at 77.7 kg/hl in wheat of the harvest-2016 and 78.3 kg/hl in the harvest-2015, are almost similar;

- results of the average moisture content 12.6% in wheat of the harvest-2016 are slightly below compared with 13.2% in the harvest-2015;

- results of the average value of falling number in the harvest-2016 are 120 seconds higher compared with last year, and respectively, the results of the average content of sprouted grains at 0.17% in wheat of the harvest-2016 is less than the figures at 0.87% last year. The fact indicates that there were lower costs for grain drying, and grains developed in the required condition to be stored for long periods;

- the content of other fractions of impurities (broken grains, kernels of other cereals, foreign materials, fusarium grain) almost corresponds to the figures of last year;

- gluten qualitative parameters were estimated not in terms of the fiber deformation measurement device (FDM), but in terms of the alveograph curve W, which is more informative for specifying the quality of the export potential. The average figures of W at 196x10^-4 J in the harvest-2016 and 186x10^-4 J in the harvest-2015 are almost similar, which indicates that the quality of gluten at least in terms of the W figures, is almost the same as last year.

Taking into account the reporting estimation/comparison of the qualitative parameters of the harvest volumes by the specified quality map figures, we can conclude that the quality of wheat of the harvest-2016 is not worse compared with the harvest-2015, and by some quality indicators the current year harvest is even better. According to the statistics figures of the company, the share of milling wheat somewhat increased in the export potential structure of the harvest-2016.

After making a theoretical division of the monitored qualitative parameters of soft wheat of the harvests of 2014-2016 period by grades, within frames of the quality map (not taking into account the changes in the quality of gluten in the period of post-harvest ripening), we can see the following situation:

- the share of 1-grade wheat in the general harvest volumes decreased by 1.2% compared with the harvest-2015;

- 2-grade– up 7.8%;

- 3-grade– up 11.5%, and generally А-group – up 18.1%;

- 4-grade – up 2.6%;

- 5-grade – up 4.7%, and generally B-group – up 7.3%;

- 6-grade and non-grade grain – down 25.4%.

Since the quantity and quality of gluten content were estimated in accordance to the ISO standards, the division into grades is just theoretical, and it is demonstrated within estimation of the export potential.

The results of research on the content of mycotoxins in the monitored Ukrainian soft wheat by SGS Ukraine during the season-2015/16, showed the absence of any significant problems (the content of aflatoxins, zearalenone, fumonisins, T-2 and NT-2 toxins).

The weather conditions during the periods of ripening and harvesting, allow forecasting the similar situation with the level of mycotoxins in wheat of the current harvest.

Taking into account the qualitative parameters of the harvest compared within similar quality map project for barley, it can be concluded that quality indicators of wheat and barley of the harvest-2016 are mainly comparable.

At the same time, SGS Ukraine found head smut (Tilletia tritici (Tilletia caries)) in 57% (101 of 177) of the examined samples during the season-2015/16. Such type of smut is a quarantine object for several countries. Stinking smut (Tilletia laevis) was found in 18% (32 of 177) of the examined samples. Such type of smut is not very common in the quarantine requirements of the destination countries. Dwarf smut (Tilletia controversa) is found in a much larger number of quarantine requirements of countries-importers. The laboratory found such type of smut in 30% of the samples which becomes a big problem for grain exports. Alternaria and Fusarium are found in 100% of the samples. Nematodes were not found in Ukrainian wheat at all.

The average content of ergot fungus in the examined samples of Ukrainian wheat totaled 0.001%, when the maximum recognized figure in most countries totals 0.05% in wheat for food purposes. The reporting data clearly demonstrate the groundlessness of all allegations on the ergot content in Ukrainian wheat.

Also, the state enterprise Lviv Regional Phytosanitary Laboratory found 146 specimens of corn, infected with pathogens of the quarantine diseases banned in China. Almost all samples were the carriers of the quarantine disease - bacterial wilt of corn (Erwinia stewartii). The contaminated samples came from corn producers of Lviv, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Volyn and Ternopil oblasts.

As for ragweed, the EU allows the maximum limit of ragweed seed at 50 mg/kg (ppm) for the imports of feed and raw materials. It is another significant problem for Ukrainian grain exporters.

Ukraine already started running the so-called "pilot" projects on creation and testing the programs to ensure the proper phytosanitary / quarantine control in certain oblasts on the basis of several public services and professional associations. So, the issues have been are already widely discussed, and the work for its solution has started.