Grain sampling for export is done during loading by an independent superintendent, who draws many small samples from the moving stream or from trucks and wagons, combines them, and divides the result into sealed samples for the buyer, the seller and the laboratory, under the contract’s sampling rules.
Who samples and when
The contract names the superintendent, often one approved under GAFTA rules, and says whether quality is final at loading or at discharge. At an export terminal the superintendent samples the grain stream at regular intervals during loading; at inland stations, probes take samples from each truck or wagon.
How the sample is built
- Incremental samples drawn across the whole lot, not from one spot.
- Combined into an aggregate sample per lot or sublot.
- Mixed and divided with a sample divider.
- Packed into sealed, labelled samples for each party and the laboratory.
- Retained for the period the contract sets, ready for a second analysis.
ISO 24333 describes general sampling of cereals; GAFTA sampling rules are the usual contractual basis for Black Sea trades.
Mycotoxins are different
Mycotoxins are unevenly spread, so official control samples follow Regulation (EU) 2023/2782, which prescribes more increments and a larger aggregate. A contract that relies on a commercial sample for mycotoxins should say so. See the mycotoxin sampling guide and the grain export documentation guide.
What goes wrong
Samples taken from the hatch surface or the container door, no seller representative at loading, and moisture results from a meter rather than the ISO 712 oven method are the usual causes of dispute.