Flours and meals of oil seeds or oleaginous fruits; excluding soya beans and mustard seeds

HS code 120890 covers a diverse range of flours and meals derived from various oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, excluding soya beans and mustard seeds. These products play a crucial role in the global food and animal feed industries, providing essential oils, proteins, and other valuable nutrients. The production and trade of these commodities are integral to the broader agricultural and food processing sectors, contributing to food security and economic development worldwide.

The production of flours and meals under HS code 120890 typically involves a series of processing steps. First, the oil seeds or oleaginous fruits are harvested and cleaned. They are then crushed, pressed, or otherwise processed to extract the oil content. The remaining solid material, known as the 'meal' or 'cake', is then ground into a fine powder, resulting in the flours and meals covered by this code.

The primary inputs required for the production of flours and meals under HS code 120890 include a variety of oil-rich crops, such as 120600 Sunflower seeds, 120740 Sesame seeds, and 120799 Other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, whether or not broken. Additionally, specialized machinery for oil extraction, drying, and milling is necessary to transform the raw materials into the finished products.

The flours and meals produced under HS code 120890 are primarily used as ingredients in animal feed formulations, as they provide a concentrated source of protein, fats, and other nutrients. They may also be used in certain food products for human consumption, such as baked goods, sauces, and condiments. The outputs of this industry may be further processed or blended with other ingredients to create a wide range of downstream products, including 230400 Oilcake and other solid residues, whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extraction of soya bean oil and 230690 Other oil-cake and other solid residues, whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extraction of vegetable fats or oils, other than those of heading 2304 or 2305.