Miller Magazine Issue: 142 October 2021

64 COVER STORY MILLER / OCTOber 2021 costs and periods are reduced. Feeding everyone will be a global challenge, requiring con- tribution throughout the complex food value chain. Consumers also want to know where their food has come from and how it has been grown, harvested and processed. They are also inter- ested in its environmental impact and whether its’ growers were paid fairly. Today, the industry has only been able to dream of solutions for providing consumers with food that they can trust. But now, with the opportunities opened by digitalization and automation systems, we are closer to capturing sustainably the food system’s full value. Technical concepts should be to de- velop innovative technologies to improve process efficiency, sustainable usage of resources like energy, water, land and water in crop cultivation, continually monitor the level of bacte- ria, mycotoxins and pesticides that is being reduced during the milling process, gathering information about temperature and humidity in silos to safeguard from unwanted bacterial growth, mould infection and mycotoxin contamination, compensate for wear, ensure the dust-free environment, require minimal spare parts, provide easy-in-line maintenance, establish long term re- liability, maintain a longer service life. For healthy and nutritious food to be available to billions of consumers around the world each day, these commodities must be transported in bulk, stored, traded, processed, and distributed through various channels. And while the commod- ities are in-transit, they can be exposed to various conditions like extreme weather, poor storage facility, physical, chemical or biological contaminations. However, digitalization is inspiring exciting new solutions that can address these issues, enabling processes to be adjusted to optimize yield, save energy, pre- vent wastage or contamination and remove defective produce. Digitalization has enabled in the creation of numerous ap- plications and software which can be used on various terminal devices. It offers various opportunities to improve processes, increase value, reduce food wastage, better usage of resources, quicker decision making and transparent communication throughout the value chain. Besides, businesses that produce appropriate innovative solutions by ob- serving emerging needs and demands during this tough time because of the pandemic, will have important opportu- nities. In the agri-food sector, food safety and food accessibility have come to the fore. In this respect, food industrialists will focus on technology and digitaliza- tion investments as much as possible, which will increase efficiency and re- duce food losses. By creating a blockchain infrastructure in the supply chain, flour mills can track and traceback information such as the origin of the raw materials, the level of moisture, mycotoxin, protein, pesticides and other important parameters of used, transportation and storage conditions for each party of the wheat and they can make all these data available to the consumers. The transparent tracking of the chain will not only provide food safety but also reduce intermediaries and product losses within the chain. SEGMENT OVERVIEW The global flour market is segmented based on raw materi- al, application, technology, and geography. Based on the raw material, it is divided into wheat (including durum flour), rice, maize (including corn flour), and others (including oat flour and rye flour). Based on application, it is categorized into bread & bakery products, noodles & pasta, animal feed (including pet food), wafers, crackers & biscuits, non-food application (includ- ing bio-plastics, biomaterials, glue), and others (including roux, baby food). Based on technology, it is bifurcated into dry tech- nology and wet technology. (3). An increase in health concerns for high-protein flour gives rise to the demand for flour millers to make product innovations by using gluten-free flour alternatives such as maize flour, rice flour, soya flour, and corn flour. Private flour millers in Asia-Pacif- ic have initiated the private players to increase their production capacity and innovative product offerings owing to less strin- gent regulations of government control on the flour industry. An increase in the average selling price for flour in most of the countries has positively impacted the growth of the market. Flour milling is a highly competitive industry. Specialty prod- ucts have created a new opportunity, but the opportunity costs must also be considered. Determining what new products

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