IMPORTANCE OF GRAIN STANDARDS

Amit Sachdev, Indian Representative, US Grain Council

India entered the realm of international trade in grains in late 2000's, India was not ready as an exporter, but sold products of a price point and continues to do so. Prior to the green revolution, India was an importer of agricultural produce and followed the standards set by the exporting countries. Standards serve as reference, when used in context of contracts or international trade on which the commercial transactions are based.

One of the major strengths any grain production system can have is to offer a grade of grains that is consistent so as it is easy to trade and the users can identify the same without any problems. US grain production and marketing system has the capability to offer a variety of grades to its end users, which are priced accordingly. The differentiation in grades is possible due to the differences in topography, soils and climate from one region to another and the same is true for India as well, but Indian standards are not harmonized with International systems and hence Indian grains tend to be traded at a discount. Within Indian context there are two standards one proposed by Food Corporation of India for food grade maize and one for trade as per NCDEX.

The standards from FCI suggest as under :
The Maize shall be the dried and matured grain of Zea mays. The grain shall have uniform size, shape and colour. It shall be in sound merchantable condition and shall conform to standards framed under Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules.

1. Maize shall be sweet, hard, clean, wholesome and free from Argemone maxicana and Lathyrus sativus (kesari) in any form.
2. It shall be free from colouring matter, moulds, obnoxious smell and admixture of deleterious substances.
Recently Indian corn faced rejection in Canada as the samples were found to have higher levels of Alflatoxins, more than 20 times the permissble limit of 20 ppb (Parts per billion). Indian corn has also been rejected earlier in Indonesia and Vietnam due to higher level of Aflatoxins etc. While there are standards in place, the grain is exported without proper inspection. Also it seems that the grain standards for Industry are not the same as used by other countries for trade. 
In the US, the Congress passed the U.S. Grain Standards Act (USGSA) in 1916 at the request of local trade and governments that wanted a national inspection program and, for the first time, a national weighing program. The U.S. Grain Standards Act, with few exceptions, requires official certification that export grain sold by grade has been inspected and weighed. Official services are provided upon request for grain in domestic commerce. The Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) is a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). FGIS administers a system for officially inspecting and weighing grain and other commodities and is available at all ports.

The U.S. Grain Standards Act provides for the establishment of official U.S. grain standards that are used to measure and describe the physical and biological properties of the grain at the time of inspection. The grades, classes and conditions reported on official certificates are determined according to the factors defined in these standards. These factors may include test weight per bushel (one bushel equals 25.4 kg) and percentages, by weight, of damaged kernels, foreign material, broken kernels and other factors. The certificate also notes specific conditions of the grain, such as moisture content and infestation. No seasonal adjustments are made on U.S. Grades. On an average one bushel of US corn has 90,000 kernels (as per a report from purdue university) and based on this the count will be 354 grains per 100 gm.

Under normal circumstances, trade priecs are based in U.S. no. 2 and discounts are offered on U.S. No.3 (As per CBOT the contracts are based in #2 and #1 Yellow is at a premium of 1.5 cent/bushel premium and #3 at a 1.5 cent/bushel discount). Meaning if #2 is valued at $3.81/bushel=$150/MT, #3 will be valued at $ 3.795/bushel=$149.4/MT, a discount of $0.6/MT on CBOT).
While it is true that standards need to be simple, but then they tend to be impractical for trade and if the standards are too complex, then they tend to become impractical. In order to move up the ladder on the World's Bank 'Ease of doing Business', India must acys, open the imports as well and open the opportunities for Indian traders to export as per International standards. It is not for the Government to decide, but for the trade to demand that the harmonized standards be set in place and end users to demand that they would follow the standards to procure.
Be ready, we are not far from it.

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GREEN TEA FEED ADDITIVES COULD AID POULTRY PRODUCTION

July 2015: Antibiotic-free poultry production could be made easier by using green tea as a feed additive, a new study in Bangladesh has shown.
The study revealed that 0.25 per cent of green tea (250 grams in every 100 kilograms of feed) as feed additive could bring better results than the use of antibiotics in poultry production, reported UNB.

As well as using antibiotics for treating ailments in farm animals, farmers in some countries use the drugs routinely during rearing, to improve growth and feed efficiency. Using antibiotics in animal feed has become increasingly controversial, as scientists worry about causing the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria dangerous to human health.

Dr Md Elias Hossain, an associate professor of the Department of Poultry Science at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), conducted the experimental study entitled, 'Supplementation of green tea in broiler diet for the production of antibiotic free broiler meat'.
Broiler production is one of the most important and promising industrial sectors in Bangladesh. The use of antibiotics is almost common in broiler production, although there is no law or regulation affecting their use in Bangladesh, hence the mission to find a new source for the benefits that are brought by antibiotics.
The experiment was carried out recently at BAU Poultry Farm in Mymensingh. A total of 280 day-old broiler chicks were reared for 35 days in five dietary treatment groups, which included a control (basal diet), a diet containing antibiotics, and three diets containing different levels of green tea powder (0.25, 0.5 and 1 per cent).
According to the scientist, the results suggest that green tea at a level of 0.25 per cent may be used as potential feed additives in broiler diet.
Using green tea as feed additive is a new phenomenon in Bangladesh. In addition to human consumption, lower-grade green tea and green tea by-products have been used as feed additive in animal feed all over world. It contains more than 200 bioactive components such as flavonoids (powerful antioxidants), amino acids, xanthine alkaloids, vitamin and minerals, which are safe for humans.
Extensive use of green tea as alternative feed additive in poultry production can make antibiotics free meat and eggs, which will be safe food for humans and can play an important role for the improvement of national health status and the country's socioeconomic condition.
The use of green tea in poultry production may be a little costlier than antibiotic use, but there would be more body weight gain of broilers fed green tea.
Hence, farmers may make a balance in production cost and nowadays consumers hardly think about price but surely look for safe food.
Source: 5m Publication

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