Grain Trading

The Wheat is the main representative of the grain crops that is used for the making of bread. At first it was cultivated in the region of The Fertile Crescent in the Middle East but later on it was spread all over the world. Yearly around 2.5 million acres are dibbled with wheat. In 2013 the production of wheat reached 700 million tones in world scale which puts it in third place among the grain crops after maize and rice.

The wheat is one of the main sources of plant albumin in the food because it is known for its higher levels of proteins compared to the maize, rice and other similar crops. It is believed that around 70% of the world population eats wheat bread.

The part of the wheat that it is used for the making of bread is its grains. After they have been grinded in the mills the product that comes out is wheat flour that is used for preparing different types of bread, biscuits, spaghetti, couscous and a number of other dough products. The wheat flour is also used for the making of alcoholic beverages and even biodiesel. The wheat is also used in the production of animal feed and sometimes the hay is used as a construction material for covering the agricultural buildings.

Between 10 and 12 million decares of wheat are reported in Bulgaria and with an average gain of between 400 and 500 kg since December, the harvest is 4 to 5 million tons, of which 3 million remain for export, as the internal consultation is 2 million tons, divided almost by equal between the production of flour and fodder.

The Grainstore Company has a great experience in trading and processing wheat and it can provide transportation services to its customers by their choice. We can offer the both types of wheat – bread wheat and wheat for animal feed, as for the wheat used for forage there are international basic requirements for hectoliter, humidity, impurities, infections and diseases. The bread wheat can be divided in different groups by the levels of protein, gluten and the falling number which is used as an indicator of the gasification with bread.

Corn is an important crop used for grain and silage. The local people of Mesoamerica have cultivated it since prehistoric times. As of the 21st century, corn is the most widely grown crop in the world, mainly due to its ability to grow in different climate conditions. It is the main food for the population in some countries in Latin America and Africa.

World corn production is over 1,113.5 million tons in 2020, and it is mainly used for the production of biofuels, feed, and used in the food industry, where corn produces starch, dextrin, glucose and margarine. It is a raw material used for the production of alcohol, paper, man-made fibers and various medicines. There is no other cultivated plant that produces as many products as corn does.

In Bulgaria, the sown areas with corn are in the range of 4 to 5 million decares, and the total output is up to 3.5 million tons, of which over 1.5 million tons are exported. Compared to other grains, it is more difficult to store, and therefore it requires more care. We at Grainstore are well aware of the characteristics of each crop and the importance of responsible storage. Our storage facilities are equipped with special equipment for constant ventilation and rotation of the grain masses that are entrusted to us. We can deliver corn to our clients with specific indicators of moisture, impurities and damaged grains, as well as without the presence of alpha and other toxins.

Sunflower is an oil plant originating from North America. It was transferred to Bulgaria after the liberation as an ornamental plant, but then in 1917 it was cultivated as an agricultural crop. Then for a short period it became the main oil-bearing crop of Bulgarian agriculture.

Sunflower is grown for the seeds used to make sunflower oil – the most widely used oil in our country. It has a high nutritional value and good taste. Apart from food products (oil, margarine, mayonnaise, canned food, confectionery, etc.), sunflower oil is also used to make soaps, paints, varnishes, wood oils and other industrial products. The average consumption of sunflower oil in Bulgaria exceeds 15 kg per capita. Pomace can also be obtained through the process of extracting the oil via pressing.

According to the FAO, the world harvested area of sunflower exceeds 100 million acres and it is the third most important oil crop after soybeans and rapeseed. The largest producers of sunflower are the Republic of China, Argentina, Russia, France, Ukraine and Bulgaria.
In Bulgaria, sunflower is a second largest crop and from the average of 8 million decares sown 2.0 million tons are harvested, of which about 1 million tons are exported annually. The main parameters we analyze for sorting and trading sunflower include moisture, impurities and oil content.

Rapeseed, also known as Canola, is a bright yellow plant that is grown and cultivated around the world. Rapeseed production worldwide reached a record of 62 million tons in 2019 / 2020, of which about 19 million tons goes to Europe. It is mainly used for fodder, rapeseed oil production and biodiesel.

Bulgaria has extremely favorable conditions for growing this crop. The production of biodiesel is in its infancy, but it is already provoking great interest amongst farmers, transport companies, bakeries, and other companies whose production and services are dependent on fuels. The interest of farmers is twofold. On the one hand, they want to use biodiesel as an alternative fuel for refueling their agricultural machinery. On the other hand, they are motivated to grow sunflowers, canola and other oilseeds.

In Bulgaria, rapeseed production is not as widespread as in Europe or America, but it is gaining momentum, as it is a good alternative to corn in the Southern part of the country, where the lack of rainfall does not allow sowing moisture-loving spring plants. The average annual sown area of rapeseed is less than 2 million decares and the harvested quantities of rapeseed are around 500,000 tons. Grainstore supplies rapeseed sorted by moisture, impurities and oil content.

Barley is an important forage, technical and, in some countries, food crop. It is grown in moderate parts of the world. Approximately 800 million decares of this crop are sown around the world, half of which are located in Russia and China. Grain and chaff are used for animal food and in some countries a significant part of the grain is used to produce malt, beer and various processed products.

In Bulgaria this crop reached an area of 4.8 million decares (in 1980), but due to some climate changes and the decrease in the number of productive animals, this area cut back more than 2 times at the beginning of the XXI century, In 2020 the sown areas were only 1.15 million decares and the harvest was about 560,000 tons, of which only 300,000 tons remained for export. In terms of productivity, barley is equal to wheat, and gives higher output in certain years. The average output in the country fluctuates between 350 and 450 kg / dca, but an average of 600 – 700kg / dca can be obtained from large areas in favorable years.

Depending on its purpose, barley is divided into feed barley and brewing barley. In Europe, only spring, two-row barley is used for malt production, but since barley is grown in Bulgaria only during Autumn, we set aside quantities with protein below 11.5 and test weight above 67 for brewing and supply the rest to the feed industry.