Export-oriented system of wheat grain clustering according to its intended purpose

Abstract

The article analyzes the world market for the production and consumption of wheat grain in 2020– 2021. The creation of a new commodity nomenclature of grain, focused on the export strategy for the production and storage of wheat, is substantiated. It is proposed to determine this nomenclature taking into account 16 Critical Quality Indicators, reflecting the factors affecting the storage stability and functional predisposition of grain. In order to develop a clustering methodology, 12 samples of wheat grain, representing the entire range of grain quality characteristics, were selected and evaluated in two main target categories: “storage ability” and “manufacturability”. The derivatography method was used to study the moisture content of the grain, which is the most important physical and chemical property for the indicated target varieties and their application. It is shown that the following three types of moisture are present in the grain: 1 — poorly adsorbed, free moisture, 2 — strongly adsorbed moisture, bound moisture, 3 — intramolecular moisture. Notably, intramolecular moisture is contained in a fairly significant amount. It is proposed to form the suitability of grain for long-term storage by reducing the proportion of intramolecular moisture to values below the critical ones using a special technological operation of conditioning.