Grain, Rice and other bulk commodities

Many commodities such as grain and rice are stored in bulk for onward distribution through the food chain. In instances such as this stored crop insect pests can easily be present and given the right conditions a rapid population build up can easily occur.

Rejections on delivery due to insect presence can be a costly affair due to return loads or diversions and can frequently amount to £20.00pmt or more. Insect detection at low levels of infestation is unreliable and difficult to detect, for instance at a concentration of 1 insect per kilo of wheat it will need to be found amongst approximately 34,000 grains of grain. However even at this level the average lorry load will still contain 24,000 insects.

Frequently fumigation is most cost effective answer to these situations at a fraction of the cost per tonne when compared with rejection costs.

The fumigation of bagged or stacked commodities is usually possible and as with bulk fumigations this will not interfere with the seeds germination properties.