Milling wheat for exports

Find out how the ukp and uks classifications help overseas buyers understand the quality characteristics of UK-grown wheat.

There is a core overseas market for UK-grown quality wheat.

There are many things to consider before accessing these markets, beyond the distance of a farm to a suitable port.

In particular, the requirements of overseas markets differ to the domestic wheat market.

As overseas buyers may be unfamiliar with UK varieties, AHDB introduced the ukp (hard bread wheat) and uks (soft biscuit wheat) classifications.

These provide information on the typical specifications associated with key quality characteristics that are important in overseas markets (Table 1).

The classifications cover similar quality characteristics to those associated with UKFM milling wheat groups:

• Minimum specific weight (kg/hl)
• Maximum moisture content (%)
• Maximum admix (%)
• Minimum Hagberg Falling Number (HFN; s) 
• Protein content (%)

Additionally, they provide specifications for W and P/L values (determined by a Chopin Alveograph test), where:

• W measures the baking strength of a dough (a higher number represents a stronger flour)
• P measures the maximum pressure required to burst a dough bubble
• L measures the extensibility of a dough (time taken for a bubble to burst)

A low P/L measure represents a dough that is very extensible with low strength.

The AHDB Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds indicates varieties that are more likely to meet ukp or ukp specifications.

Table 1. Typical specifications for ukp and uks wheat