A GAFTA contract is a standard-form trade contract published by the Grain and Feed Trade Association for grain, feed, meal and pulses. It fixes delivery terms, weighing, sampling, analysis, default and arbitration. Parties choose it by agreement; it is a trade convention, not a legal requirement.
What the form covers
GAFTA publishes separate forms for different delivery bases and carriage modes, such as FOB and CIF bulk shipments or container trades. Each form gives the parties ready-made clauses on quantity tolerance, quality and weight final at loading or discharge, sampling and analysis rules, documents, default, force majeure and arbitration in London under GAFTA rules.
What it does not cover
The form does not set a quality specification. Protein, moisture, falling number or germination are written into the contract by the parties. GAFTA also is not Incoterms: Incoterms allocate cost and risk, while the form adds everything else a grain trade needs. Oils and oilseeds usually trade on FOSFA forms instead.
Why it matters for Ukrainian grain and feed
Most Black Sea grain and meal is sold on GAFTA forms, and many disputes turn on the sampling clause and the strict time limits for claims. A buyer who wants quality final at discharge, or a named laboratory, has to say so in the contract. See the GAFTA contract terms record for the clauses in detail and the malting barley guide for how a quality clause sits inside a GAFTA trade.