The Agbiz Grain SHEQ Working Group will meet on 7 November to discuss three critical aspect:
Agbiz Grain Quarterly will report on this meeting in
an upcoming issue in 2025. – Agbiz Grain
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreThe development of the Sampling
and Grading Skills Programme for 2024/25 will include maize, wheat, soya
beans, and sunflower seeds and for 2025/26, canola, malting barley, sorghum,
and groundnuts. A total of eight skills programmes will be developed. Students
will earn credits for the Quality Council for Trade and Occupations (QCTO)
accredited Grain Depot Manager and Grain Grader Qualification developed by
Agbiz Grain.
Lizelle Jacobs of Mind Alive has
been appointed as the facilitator for the development of the skills programme, Fumigation.
For more information regarding the development of the respective skills
programmes, contact Lizelle at info@mindalive.co.za. – Agbiz Grain
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreThe United States (US) Department
of Labour recently announced that its Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) launched a regional emphasis programme to address worker
safety in the highly hazardous grain handling industry, as preventable injuries
and unchecked hazards continue to be a serious concern for workers in the
region. The programme in Missouri is identical to those already in place in
Kansas and Nebraska.
Between 1 October 2020 and 30
September 2023, OSHA responded to three fatalities, 13 reported amputations,
and 36 hospitalisations among industry workers in the three states alone.
During this period, the agency completed 104 inspections, including 68 in
Kansas, 28 in Nebraska, and eight in Missouri. It received 131 complaints or
referrals regarding unsafe conditions in the grain handling industry.
Hazards at grain handling
facilities are well documented and include dangers related to fires and
explosions if combustible dust ignites, engulfment, confined spaces, falls,
auger entanglements, electrical shock and electrocution, struck-by incidents,
and those related to rail car operations.
The expanded five-year programme
targets industry employers with grain elevators, grain storage and milling
operations, and those engaged in animal feed production, farm machinery, and
equipment repair or maintenance. – Insurance Journal
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreThe Johannesburg Stock Exchange
(JSE) has been receiving complaints that soya beans being delivered as a SB1
standard, do not meet quality expectations. This is affecting the ability of
JSE clients to access their stocks in a timely manner as they have to wait for
the stock to be sifted to remove foreign matter. The JSE believes that when a
storage operator issues a silo certificate, the client should receive the
quality and quantity of the product stated on the JSE certificate without the
need to sift the product. Sieving delays the process of getting the product to
the crushers and waiting time adds costs to the processor.
The JSE advocates that storage
operators should assist their JSE clients to receive the correct quality and
quantity of their that a storage operator cannot find a client’s stock at a
particular location and has to outload at another location, it should be borne
in mind that the cost of transportation is the responsibility of the storage
operator. If such issues are raised with the JSE, it will refer the client to
the storage operator for a resolution. – Agbiz Grain
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreThe JSE, as a licensed exchange,
is obligated to ensure a fair, efficient, and transparent market in futures
contracts listed and traded on its commodity derivatives market. An integral
aspect of maintaining this market’s integrity in physically settled commodity
futures contracts is market participants’ compliance with their delivery and
other obligations as recorded in the JSE Rules and Contract Specifications.
The specifications contain
extensive provisions regarding approved storage operators’ obligations and
responsibilities in respect of the commodities stored in terms of JSE receipts,
one of which is their obligation to store and deliver the quality and quantity
of commodities at the location recorded on the JSE receipt.
The JSE has been informed that
the 2023/24 summer grains and oilseeds crop has had a difficult season due to
dry weather, resulting in a lower harvest than the previous season. In these
circumstances, and as a result of the transition from one season to the next
with lower stock levels compared to the previous year, there may be concerns
regarding the availability of commodities in certain regions.
Market participants are urged to
manage their outloading booking slots promptly and are reminded of the 25%
booking slots designated for JSE receipts on the main hedging months.
Furthermore, clients are urged to utilise the JSE Stock of Grain Report to
identify where the majority of JSE stock levels per silo are stored and to
consult the Silo Unavailability Report. – JSE Market Notice
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreGrainCorp Operations Ltd has been
fined AU$15,000 by the New South Wales (NSW) Environment Protection Authority
(EPA) after an alleged system error led to a phosphine gas emission at the
company’s Port Kembla grain terminal in New South Wales, Australia earlier this
year. Phosphine gas is used by grain companies to control pests during
fumigation processes.
The NSW EPA said the error
occurred after an operator at the grain terminal connected the wrong gas sample
line to the grain fumigation monitoring equipment. As a result, both of the
terminal’s monitoring and control systems failed, which allowed the emission of
the phosphine gas at levels above the licensed limit.
A GrainCorp investigation found
no environmental or public health risks, but the company said it is
implementing corrective actions and additional engineering controls to prevent
future incidents. NSW EPA is the primary environmental regulator for New South
Wales. The agency partners with business, government, and the community to
reduce pollution and waste, protect human health, and prevent degradation of
the environment. – World-Grain.com
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreAs the grain storage industry is
unique and has unique risk and mitigation applications for those risks, the
need for audit criteria focussed solely on the grain storage sector has been
raised. The idea is to have an audit document that covers all the aspects that
grain storage facilities should comply with. This document will be drafted by a
drafting committee from the sector with the help of external parties who will
be part of the audit process.
Issues that will be discussed at
the Agbiz Grain SHEQ seminar on 7 November this year include: What are the
advantages and disadvantages of such an audit document? Will all members of
Agbiz Grain participate? Will this add value to the work SHEQ teams perform in
the industry? What are some of the basics we would like to see in such an audit
document? The following panel members will assist in reaching conclusions:
Gerard Ramage of VKB Group, Ebbe Rabe of Price Forbes, Jaco Joubert of Overberg
Agri, and Japie Greyling of AFGRI. – Agbiz Grain
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreThe South African Winter Cereal
Industry Agency (SAWCIA) has appointed Viridis as the administrator and to
communicate with collection agents concerning the collection of statutory
levies for wheat, barley, and oats. This follows an open tender process during
September this year. Be sure to read the full article elsewhere in this
publication. For more information, Agbiz Grain members and all other collection
agents are welcome to contact Gert Kok of Viridis at admin@viridisafc.co.za. – Agbiz
Grain
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreAfter recently announcing plans
to construct a new pasta production facility and expand its wheat flour
production capacity in Ghana, Olam Agri said it is looking at further expansion
in Mozambique and other Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries.
Consumption of wheat-based
products in Mozambique has increased significantly over the past two decades,
almost tripling since the early 2000s, with annual wheat consumption reaching
700 000 tonnes. The country is a gateway to SADC countries as it shares a
border with Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Eswatini.
Olam Agri, which has operated in
Mozambique for the past 25 years, has a strong presence across all 11 provinces
with operations in Maputo, Beira and Nacala, where the main ports are situated.
The company is a leading distributor of edible oils and rice, and is aligned
with national efforts to improve food security. An expansion into wheat milling
and pasta production will add value to local processing capabilities, the
Singapore-based company said. – World-Grain.com
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreIn a recent study, researchers at
the Austrian University of Veterinary Medicine evaluated the effects of storage
on maize, oats, and barley, which are some of the main cereal grains in equine
feeds. The researchers examined commercial cereals manufactured by different
local companies and bagged for sale including native oat, barley, and maize as
well as flaked oats, flaked barley, and flaked maize.
Some interesting results from the
36 samples include:
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreFerguson, and
Valtra, is selling its grain storage and processing division, Grain and
Protein, for US$700 million (equivalent to €648 million) to investment firm
American Industrial Partners. The deal involves five brands: GSI, Automated
Production, Cumberland, Cimbria, and Tecno. Under these brand names, Agco
manufactures grain silos, dryers, and conveyors. However, Agco will retain the
Chinese operations of Grain and Protein.
According to
Agco, divesting this division allows the manufacturer to focus on the
production and development of agricultural machinery and precision agriculture
technologies. Agco plans to use the proceeds from the sale for predetermined
priorities, including paying off debts, investing in technology, business
growth, and paying shareholders. – Future Farming
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreBuilding
resilience requires action across the food production chain, and Egypt’s
government has taken a multi-pronged approach. One of the foundational elements
of this strategy is to improve and expand the capacity of grain storage.
The World
Bank’s Emergency Food Security and Resilience Support Project is part of these
efforts to expand and renovate Egypt’s food silos. The Assiut food silo in the
Upper Egypt governorate is one of the first to be expanded under the project,
which involves rehabilitating and expanding seven silos and building two new
ones. At the Assiut silo, storage will be expanded from the current level of 60
000 to 100 000 tonnes of grain annually. – World Bank
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreThe Manildra
Group is developing a recovery plan and safety assessment after the collapse of
two silos spilt thousands of tonnes of wheat at its starches factory at
Bomaderry on the New South Wales coast, releasing grain into the Shoalhaven
River on 17 October, ABC News reported.
The flour mill
has been shut down, but two-thirds of the plant are still operating. Each of
the collapsed silos held around 1 000 tonnes of grain. The site has four silos,
and a third silo containing 500 tonnes of grain was also badly damaged.
The silos are
situated on the edge of the river, and the collapse impacted a hydrant, with
the resulting water flow carrying wheat into the river, according to
authorities. It is unknown what caused the silos to collapse or how much wheat
entered the river. – World Grain
Published: 04/11/2024
MoreUkraine’s
grain exports for the 2024/25 July to June season totalled 13 million metric
tonnes as of 21 October, up from approximately 8,3 million tonnes on 23 October
2023, according to data from the agriculture ministry. The volume included 7,2
million tonnes of wheat, 3,8 million tonnes of maize, and 1,7 million tonnes of
barley.
Ukraine’s
government and farm associations have agreed to limit wheat exports in the
2024/25 season to 16,2 million tonnes to ensure sufficient supplies for the
local population. Traders have utilised almost 44,5% of the agreed wheat export
quota so far, with no restrictions on exports of other commodities.
The ministry
reported that traders had exported around 2,6 million tonnes of grain in
October compared to 1,6 million tonnes over the same period last year. The
combined grain and oilseed crop for this year is expected to fall to 77 million
tonnes, including approximately 54 million tonnes of grain, the ministry said.
Ukraine’s grain exports in the 2023/24 marketing season increased to roughly 51
million tonnes from 49,2 million tonnes the previous year. – XM
Published: 04/11/2024
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