Non-Tariff Barriers

Non-Tariff Measure

NTM classification

P69: Export technical measures, n.e.s. 

Date when the measure came into force

18 June 1976 

Publication where the measure is specified

Laws of Botswana Chapter 74:06 

Regulation where the measure is specified

Sorghum (Classification and Grading) Regulations (Chapter 74:06) 

Country/Region applying the measure

Botswana 

The rationale of the measure

No specific objective stated 

Coded list of objectives

X: For purposes n.e.s. 

Description of the measure

4. Classes
There shall be four classes of grain sorghum, namely-
(a) white sorghum, i.e. sorghum consisting of not less than 90 percent (weight by weight)
white sorghum, irrespective of any purplish anthocyanic blotches in or on the pericarp,
and which does not have a dark nucellar layer provided that it complies at least with
the Grade SW2;
(b) red sorghum, i.e. sorghum consisting of not less than 90 percent (weight by weight)
sorghum of any colour ranging through yellow, pink, red and reddish brown,
irrespective of any purplish anthocyanic blotches in or on the pericarp, and which does
not have a dark nucellar layer, provided it complies at least with the Grade SR2;
(c) mixed sorghum, i.e. sorghum consisting of not less than 90 percent (weight by weight)
sorghum of any colour and which does have a dark nucellar layer, provided it complies
at least with the Grade SM3; and
(d) sample-grade, i.e. sorghum other than sorghum of any of the above-mentioned
classes.
5. Grades
(1) The grades for the different classes of sorghum (excluding the class sample-grade)
shall be as follows-
Class of sorghum
White sorghum .........................and SW2
Red sorghum ...........................and SR2
Mixed sorghum .........................,SM2 and SM3.
5(2) Subject to the allowable deviations prescribed in regulation 6, sorghum of any of the grades referred to in subregulation (1) shall comply with the requirements prescribed in subregulation (3).
(3) The sorghum shall-
(a) be free from any musty, sour or other objectionable odour;
(b) be free from foreign matter;
(c) be of a standard which makes it suitable for the manufacture of sorghum products for human consumption;
(d) be of the colour of the respective class;
(e) not contain weather-stained sorghum;
(f) not contain sorghum of another class;
(g) be free from defective sorghum;
(h) be free from unthreshed sorghum;
(i) not be distinctly blackened by smut or not contain 10 or more smut balls or parts of smut balls which are collectively equivalent to 10 or more smut balls per 100 grammes of sorghum;
(j) be free from live weevils or other live insects injurious to stored grain, irrespective of whether such insects are in the sorghum or on the containers thereof;
(k) be free from poisonous chemical substances which may render such sorghum unsuitable for human or animal consumption; except if such sorghum is intended for seed purposes and the container in which the seed is packed is clearly marked to indicate that it contains sorghum which has been treated with a chemical substance;
and
(l) have a moisture content not exceeding 12 percent (weight by weight).
9. Packing of sorghum
(1) Sorghum shall either be bought or sold or bought and sold by the Board either in bulk or in grain bags.
(2) Grain bags in which sorghum is either bought or sold or bought and sold shall be new or good second-hand grain bags which-
(a) are manufactured from jute or phormium or jute and phormium;
(b) have a superficial measurement of not less than 7484 cm2 and not more than 8065 cm2 and which have been woven with porter and shot (warp and weft threads) of not less than-
(i) in the case of jute bags and jute-and-phormium bags, 32 warp and 32 weft threads per 100 mm;
(ii) in the case of phormium bags, 36 warp and 40 weft threads per 100 mm;
(iii) in the case of B-Twill bags, 24 warp and 32 weft threads per 100 mm;
(c) are strong enough for the conveyance of 100 kg net sorghum and are not so weathered or worn that they will break during normal handling, or, when empty, will tear if one end is held down with the flat heel and the other end is pulled by hand;
(d) be clean and not stained by any colouring substance or impregnated by any liquid capable of imparting stains, excluding trade marks or normal discolouration due to exposure to the sun;
(e) be free from holes but may be darned with twine of which the tensile strength shall be not less than 40 newtons or patched where necessary:
Provided that-
(i) none of the darns shall exceed 26 cm2 and that such darns shall overlap the small holes on all sides by at least 13 mm;
(ii) the darns shall be cross-stitched by hand with jute twine or machine-darned in such a manner that the darns correspond in closeness to the weave of the bag and that the material of the bag is not pulled together, thereby causing the snapping or displacement of the strands of the bag or the darns when the bag is filled with sorghum;
(iii) except for not more than two patches (one on each side) of not more than 38 mm by 254 mm each allowed at the mouth of the bag to cover cuts and affixed as indicated in paragraph (v), none of the other patches shall exceed 39 cm2;
(iv) patches, whether stitched or affixed with an adhesive, shall not overlap;
(v) patches shall be properly hand-sewn to the bags with jute twine or properly machine-darned over the entire surface of the patch with twine, the tensile strength of which shall be not less than 40 newtons;
(vi) patches affixed with an adhesive shall be properly affixed and will not be allowed to be closer than 150 mm from the mouth of the bag; and
(vii) bags of which the mouth sections have been replaced shall not be acceptable. 

Reference of the measure

Article 4;
Sub-article 5(1);
Sub-article 5(2);
Article 9; and 

Measure also domestic

No 

Products affected by the measure.

Description

Grain sorghum 

Countries/Regions affected by the measure.

Description

All countries and regions