1. Scope

The sector embraces mills handling cereal crops, including warehousing for raw materials and end products, and also animal feed production and seed dressing, operations which are almost always linked to the cereal processing complex.

The only milling industries to be considered in the study are those involved in manufacturing end products for human consumption from raw materials imported or grown in rural areas, with animal feed simply a by-product.

Below, the environmentally relevant factors of noise, dust, process water and pesticides are considered.

The sector concerned can be divided essentially into four parts:

- storage, drying and seed dressing,
- flour mills,
- hulling mills,
- heat treatment.

Projects for the drying and storage of locally grown cereal and for seed conditioning have been given a boost recently and have been priority now that it is realised that raw materials for food need to be protected from spoilage and perishing due to climatic conditions, pests etc. and that better seed increases production.

Modern industrial mills have an integrated silo and warehouse capacity for the raw material to be processed and the end products and by-products manufactured. Depending on the site, ownership and the general purpose of the plants, drying and seed cleaning plants may be incorporated. By-products are often recycled as animal feed components.