Samples, scales, laboratory:
what the rules say.

It depends on the commodity. Grains and feedingstuffs trade on GAFTA contracts: sampling is carried out by a superintendent on the GAFTA Approved Register, under Sampling Rules No. 124, and weighing under Weighing Rules No. 123. Oilseeds — sunflower, rapeseed, soya — trade on FOSFA contracts: sampling is carried out by a FOSFA member superintendent, under the federation's Contractual Methods of Sampling and its Code of Practice. In both cases it is a requirement of the contract, not an option. KRM Inspection is on the GAFTA registers of superintendents and of fumigators, and is a FOSFA member superintendent, Oilseeds Section.

Whenever a FOSFA contract refers to superintendents, surveyors or representatives, it means FOSFA members — their use is mandatory. There are two exceptions: where the contract or national law requires a governmental agency, or where no member is available near the port. The same rule applies to analysis: a FOSFA member analyst, represented in the Oilseeds Section. In Romania the second exception does not arise — there are 16 member superintendent firms.

To operate independently — "free from any commercial, financial or other pressures" in establishing the way of working. The superintendent is appointed by the buyer or the seller, but does not work towards their result. It works to the rules, and the result is what comes out of them. The FOSFA Code of Practice says the same thing from the other side: the superintendent stays within the instructions received, assumes no responsibilities not given, and reports any departure from normal practice.

The buyer, the seller, or both. Whoever appoints is responsible for precise instructions: which cargo, what nominated quantity, which analyses, which documents. The nominated quantity matters in particular — it determines how many samples are drawn.

The party present notifies the other and calls upon a superintendent from another firm on the Approved Register to draw and seal on behalf of the absent party. The extra expense is borne by the party that was absent or refused.

That the certificate issued by a government or authority at the port of loading is final as to quality. In that case, sampling is the responsibility of that authority, and arbitration samples cannot be used to challenge the specifications in the certificate — unless the arbitrators decide otherwise.

At the point of loading or discharge — vessel, barge, wagon or lorry — or at entry to and exit from the silo, throughout the operation, uniformly and systematically. From the moving stream, at the nearest practical point to the vessel. A sample taken at the end, from a single hold or only from the surface is not sampling under the rules.

Under ISO 21294, the method FOSFA declares contractual for oilseeds — at the nearest point to the ship, concurrently with loading or discharge. Damaged, wetted or swept-up seed is sampled separately from the sound seed and is not blended with it; it is assessed and quantified apart. The laboratory sample goes into a watertight jar of at least 500 ml, filled to the top and sealed, kept below 20 °C. For moisture a second sample is drawn into an airtight container: 500 g for sunflower seed, 250 g for rapeseed and soyabeans. Samples are dispatched to the laboratory within 48 hours of the end of sampling.

It depends on the nominated quantity. Up to 5,000 tonnes, the cargo is divided into lots of 500 tonnes, with a minimum of 20 increments per lot, each of no more than 1 kg. From 5,001 to 10,000 tonnes, lots of 1,000 tonnes with a minimum of 30 increments. Above 25,000 tonnes, lots of 5,000 with a minimum of 50. The rule says "as many as practically possible, but not less than" these minimums.

The superintendent stops the operation in order to draw samples as the rules require. The parties are deemed to have agreed to this procedure in advance — there is no negotiation on the spot. It is one of the few situations in which the surveyor has the right to stop loading.

Jointly, by the buyer and the seller or their superintendents, with tamper-proof, identifiable seals, without delay after division. Every contractual sample bears the name of the ship, the quantity it represents and the date of sealing. Division and sealing take place in daylight, or in artificial light agreed by both superintendents.

All increments are homogenised into a bulk aggregate sample, which is divided with a sample divider — not by hand — into the contractual samples, each of not less than 3 kg. Where moisture is guaranteed, the container must preserve it, so a moisture-proof one is used.

For grains, pulses and seeds, a set has three samples: one for analysis, one for arbitration and one spare. One set is made per 5,000 tonnes or part thereof, except for a balance under 250 tonnes. The samples are held by the sellers or their representative. For feedingstuffs the set has four samples, two held by each party. For oilseeds on a FOSFA contract, buyers' and sellers' superintendents draw and seal five sets conjointly: buyers retain two and send one for analysis, sellers retain two.

Within 14 consecutive days of sealing, to an analyst on the GAFTA Approved Register, with the analysis instructions. A copy of the certificate of analysis goes to the other party within 14 days of receipt. Missing either deadline means claims for rejection or allowances are waived and barred — unless the arbitrators decide otherwise.

Three months from the date of sealing, unless either party instructs otherwise in writing. At the end of the three months the superintendent disposes of the samples. Until then, the samples are the property of both parties, not of whoever holds them.

One additional sample is made from the aggregate sample, dedicated to those determinations. For maize, that sample must be at least 10 kg — mycotoxins are unevenly distributed and a small sample can miss them.

For feedingstuffs and malting barley, yes: within 14 days of receiving the certificate, either party may send another sealed sample to a second analyst. The mean of the two is accepted if the variation does not exceed 0.50%; otherwise a third can be requested, and the mean of the two closest results becomes final. For ordinary grains the rules make no provision for a second analysis — which is what the arbitration sample is for. Oilseeds are different: FOSFA contracts give both parties the right to a second and a third analysis, for any specification, at their own expense, on notice within 5 business days of receiving the preceding analysis. The mean of two, or the mean of the two closest of three, is final.

All goods pass through the weighing equipment by a secure route, and weighing is concurrent with loading or discharge. The superintendent has full access to the equipment and to its checks, and the equipment's check certificate must be made available on request. Sweepings and spillage are uplifted and weighed, or an allowance is agreed.

On GAFTA terms, not by default. Rules No. 123 state in terms that draft surveys "are not wholly accurate methods of establishing weights" and that ascertainment of weight by displacement "is not acceptable for contractual purposes, unless both parties to the contract explicitly accept this method in writing". The standard CIF contracts No. 24 and 25 incorporate Rules 123 and settle on weighed delivered weight at discharge unless otherwise agreed. So a draft survey becomes the contractual method only where the contract provides for it — which happens often, especially where there is no shore scale at both ends. The method used must be stated on the weighing certificate. FOSFA is equally explicit for oilseeds: a draft survey is admitted only in the absence of any automatic weighing instrument, on the express agreement of both parties, and must be stated on the certificate of weight. The Code of Practice obliges the superintendent to ask for confirmation of that agreement before applying it.

An automatic shore weigher is accurate to around ±0.1%; a draft survey to around ±0.5–1%, depending on conditions — sea state, water density, the quality of the hydrostatic tables, the reading of the marks. In practice, differences of up to 1% between the shore figure and the ship's figure are tolerated; beyond that, the master protests and may require the draft survey figure to go into the bill of lading. A draft survey also matters as evidence: a joint draft survey, attended by both parties and the terminal, has been recognised by courts as proof of quantity where no official weighing certificate existed. That is why we do it jointly, not alone.

The parties must mutually agree the weight. If they cannot, the dispute may be referred to GAFTA arbitration under Rules No. 125. Where a national authority sets a tolerance, that tolerance applies.

At an analyst on the GAFTA Approved Register of Analysts — the rules require it. KRM does not operate a laboratory and is not on the register of analysts; we work with third-party laboratories. What we do is the part the result depends on: sampling under the rules, identification, sealing and dispatch of the sample within the deadline, and tying the certificate to the parcel it came from. For oilseeds the analyst must be a FOSFA member represented in the Oilseeds Section, and the certificate bears the FOSFA official seal.

The party instructing the superintendent, unless the contract provides otherwise. The superintendent must state on the certificate the name of the analyst and the methods used, so that the result can be traced to its source.

Visual marking of a parcel by spraying a dye solution onto the grain so that it can be identified by eye. It applies to feed grain or grain for sowing, where the buyer or the country of destination requires it. It is not governed by GAFTA and does not come from European legislation — it is a contractual or import requirement. KRM carries it out with its own equipment but does not verify its own intervention; the document issued is an operational record, not an independent finding.

Yes, as separate mandates. GAFTA keeps distinct registers for superintendents and for fumigators, and KRM is on both. Fumigation is an intervention on the cargo; inspection is a finding about it. We set them out in writing, separately, before the operation.

Most of the work is outside it. The Danube ports, silos, warehouses and intake points of the south and east of the country are where the bulk of operations take place. We confirm the presence of the team for the location and date requested before accepting the mandate.

The commodity and nominated quantity, the location, the vessel or warehouse, the period, the contract terms — GAFTA, FOSFA or otherwise — and the documents you need at the end. The nominated quantity and the terms matter most: the sampling plan and the number of sample sets depend on them.