Wheat specified by protein band, not by name

Milling and feed-grade wheat sourced from Pakistan's Punjab and Sindh belts, contracted on protein, moisture and test weight, and shipped in bagged or bulk form.

Product types Discuss wheat supply

Wheat field before harvest

Pakistan's staple crop, traded on specification.

Wheat is Pakistan's principal food crop, grown across Punjab and Sindh and harvested in spring. The country has a large domestic milling sector built around it, and the wheat that moves in international trade is contracted the way wheat is contracted everywhere: on protein, moisture and test weight rather than on a variety name.

Availability for export moves with the harvest and the domestic position, so Tristar states plainly what is achievable for a given window instead of quoting a volume it cannot stand behind.

What a wheat buyer is really purchasing.

  • Protein drives the application

    The protein band determines whether wheat suits bread flour, biscuit and confectionery flour, or feed use. It is the first thing a contract fixes.

  • Moisture drives storability

    Moisture at loading determines both the weight being paid for and how the cargo behaves in store at the other end.

  • Test weight indicates soundness

    Hectolitre weight gives a fast, objective read on grain soundness and expected milling yield.

  • Objective and verifiable

    Every one of these can be measured at loading and re-measured on arrival, which is what makes wheat straightforward to contract internationally.

Wheat varieties and grades we supply.

Wheat is traded by grade and end use rather than by variety. These are the product types most often specified.

Milling wheat

Sound wheat within a declared protein band, intended for flour milling and specified on moisture, test weight and impurity limits.

Typical use Flour milling for bread and general baking

Specified by Protein band, moisture, test weight

Feed wheat

Wheat that does not meet milling specification, sold into compound feed on energy contribution and price rather than baking performance.

Typical use Poultry, cattle and compound feed

Specified by Protein, moisture, foreign matter

High-protein milling grade

The upper protein band, specified where a stronger flour and better dough development are required.

Typical use Bread flour, blending with weaker wheats

Specified by Protein minimum, gluten quality

Soft / lower-protein grade

Wheat at the lower end of the protein range, suited to products where a softer crumb and less gluten development are wanted.

Typical use Biscuit, cake and confectionery flour

Specified by Protein maximum, moisture

Wheat flour

Milled flour supplied where a buyer wants the finished product rather than the grain, packed for bakery or retail use.

Typical use Bakeries, food manufacture, retail packing

Specified by Extraction rate, protein, packing

Wheat bran

The milling co-product, traded as a feed ingredient in its own right and covered in detail on the bran page.

Typical use Compound feed and ruminant rations

Specified by Protein, fibre, ash

See bran

The parameters a wheat contract fixes.

These are the values a lot is inspected against at loading, and the same ones a buyer will check on arrival.

Protein content
Declared band on a dry basis: the parameter that sets the end use
Moisture
Maximum at loading, governing both weight and storability
Test weight
Hectolitre weight as an indicator of soundness and milling yield
Foreign matter
Maximum impurity, including other grains and inorganic matter
Damaged and shrivelled grain
Limits on damaged, broken and immature kernels
Falling number
Where sprout damage is a concern for the milling programme
Infestation
Cargo to be free of live infestation at loading
Crop year
Declared, since it affects both condition and price

How a wheat contract is put together.

  1. 01

    Specification

    Protein band, moisture, test weight and impurity limits are agreed in writing before a price is quoted.

  2. 02

    Sourcing

    Material is drawn from the growing belt and crop year that match the specification and the shipment window.

  3. 03

    Cleaning and conditioning

    Screening and cleaning to the agreed impurity limits, with moisture controlled ahead of loading.

  4. 04

    Analysis and inspection

    The lot is analysed against the contract before shipment, with independent survey where the buyer nominates it.

  5. 05

    Milling, where specified

    Where flour rather than grain is contracted, milling is scheduled to the agreed extraction and packed accordingly.

  6. 06

    Loading and documentation

    Bagged or bulk loading, with phytosanitary and inspection documentation prepared for the destination.

Bagged for handling, bulk for volume.

Format follows quantity and discharge capability more than anything else: a buyer with bulk intake will not thank you for bags.

  • 50 kg PP woven bags
  • Jumbo / FIBC bulk bags
  • Bulk in container liners
  • Break-bulk vessel loading
  • Flour in 25 kg and retail packs
  • Palletised bagged units
Bulk grain loading at port

Grain moves on tonnage and timing.

Wheat is a volume cargo, so the shipping decision is part of the trade rather than an afterthought: bulk vessel or containers, the laycan window, and the discharge capability at the destination port all feed back into what can be offered and at what price.

Tristar arranges the movement alongside the contract through the shipping desk, and prepares the phytosanitary, fumigation and inspection documentation the importing country requires.

  • Bulk vessel and containerised movement
  • Laycan and discharge capability considered up front
  • Independent inspection and analysis where nominated
  • Phytosanitary and fumigation documentation

Where the grade ends up.

  • Flour milling

    Milling-grade wheat bought on protein and test weight for bread and general-purpose flour.

  • Bakery and confectionery

    Lower-protein grades for biscuit, cake and confectionery flours.

  • Food manufacturing

    Flour and semolina inputs for pasta, noodles and prepared foods.

  • Animal feed

    Feed wheat as an energy contributor in poultry and cattle rations.

  • Institutional and tender supply

    Bulk programmes where documentation and delivery reliability matter as much as price.

The other commodities we trade.

Five groups, one counterparty: a mixed programme does not need a second supplier.

What buyers ask about wheat.

What protein bands can you supply?

Wheat is contracted against a declared protein band agreed before pricing, covering milling grades through to feed wheat. Tell the desk the band your mill or formulation needs and it will say what is achievable for your window.

What is the difference between milling wheat and feed wheat?

Milling wheat meets the protein, test weight and soundness specification a flour mill needs. Feed wheat falls outside that specification and is sold into compound feed on its energy contribution and price instead.

Why does test weight appear on the contract?

Hectolitre weight is a fast, objective indicator of grain soundness and of the milling yield a buyer can expect, which is why it sits alongside protein and moisture in almost every wheat contract.

Do you supply flour as well as grain?

Yes, where a buyer wants the finished product. Extraction rate, protein and packing are agreed in the same way the grain specification would be.

Is wheat available for export all year?

Availability moves with the harvest and the domestic position of the origin, so the shipment window forms part of the contract. The desk states what is realistic rather than promising a volume it cannot stand behind.

Tell us the protein band and the window.

Protein, moisture, test weight, quantity and discharge port: enough to come back with a position rather than a question.