Buckwheat hulls

Buckwheat hulls are a byproduct of buckwheat milling. Flattened hulls are used as a high-quality mulch that is much sought-after by rosarians. In Japan, they are a traditional filling for pillows. For a number of years, orthopedic buckwheat hull pillows have been available in the US. A few years ago, a series of infomercials on television for "Sobakawa" pillows have increased awareness of buckwheat hull pillows, and demand for the hulls is great. A serious shortage of buckwheat hulls resulted. In the fall of 1997, several suppliers began marketing large quantities of hulls, both imported and domestically grown. By fall, 1998, industry sources said that the boom was fading some.

Sources Below are sources of buckwheat hulls that have been brought to my attention. I make no recommendations, nor assurance that the information is still accurate.

Retail quantities for pillowmakers:

Birkett Mills in Penn Yan, NY is probably the largest US producer of flattened buckwheat hulls for mulch (Mul Tex^TM). They also carry fluffy buckwheat hulls for pillows in 5 lb and 26 lb bags, as well as 5 lbs conveniently packaged in a pillowcase. P.O. Box. 440, Penn Yan, NY 14527. (315) 536-3311.  service@thebirkettmills.com(June 1997-updated Sept. 1998, June 2001)

Buckwheathull.com offers cleaned US-grown hulls in 2-lb bags for $5.99 + shipping, or 20 lb bags for $50 inlcuding shippping. Contact Jackie at Info@BuckwheatHull.com Morrisville, NC 27560 (Mar. 04)

Many Moons of Victoria, BC sells quantities from 1 to 100 lb at $4 to $2.50 per lb. In USA & Canada, Telephone/Fax: 1-800-916-4444 Elsewhere, fax +1-250-592-8815 (May-03)

Winsor Trading Inc. sells 28 lb bags of premium pillow grade buckwheat hulls for $50. This includes delivery anywhere in the contiguous USA. Send to: Winsor Trading Inc. P.O. Box 16367, Seattle, WA 98116 Phone: (206) 937-4082 Fax: (206) 935-5310 Email: Winsortr@qwest.net (May 00, Nov. 04)

Minn-Dak Growers Ltd of Grand Forks, ND has 20 lb bags for $29.95 delivered. 701.746.7453 Fax: +1-701-780-9050  P.O. Box 13276, Grand Forks, ND 58208-3276. Email: info@minndak.com. (Updated July-02)

J Trouw B.V.of Rotterdam, Holland sells cleaned and dustfree hulls with a triangular shape for pillows from their own mill. They are in blue bags of 15 kg.  Contact: Dirk Kik Tel 31-10-4866332 Fax +31-10-4860928   Piekstaat 63-65, 3071 RL Rotterdam, Holland.  Email: dkik@worldonline.nl (May 00)

Wholesale quantities for distributors:

A minimum order of 10 metric tons is available from Sangam (Ukraine Business Information Agency), Kiev, Ukraine. Contact Dr. Vladislav Matrenitsky Fax: +380 44-435 59 66. (Sept. 97)

New Russia Imports will import 1600 tons of hulls from Ukraine. Within the next six months, 150 containers, 22,000lbs each, will arrive. The first container is scheduled to arrive late Oct. However the hulls are packed loose in the container. Future shipments will be packed in 50 lbs bags. Contact: Steven Cohen, New Russia Imports
Phone : 1-610-668-7737 Fax: 1-610-668-9940 sheetsets@icdc.com (Oct. 97)

Aliments Trigone in Quebéc ships to the US and Canada. These hulls are double-cleaned to be dust free. Starting in 1999, Organic hulls (Certified by Garantie Bio and Ecocert) will be offered. The minimum order is 2 skids (1368 lb). Each skid has eighteen 38 lb bags. Phone: (418) 259-7414. Fax:(418) 259-2417 Contact Jaques Coté or Jocelyn Caissy. Email Biograin@globetrotter.qc.ca (1997; updated Jan. 99)

Philip Company of Belarus is offering hulls from Belarus and local Russian regions. The minimum order is 9 metric tons (1 container) in poly bags or bulk. They have been exporting and can ship up to 5,000 MT per year. Contact Dmitry . Email: direct@philipp.belpak.minsk.by Mail: Kropotkin Str. 89-35, Minsk 220002, Belarus. Tel: +375 - 172-348630 Fax:+375 - 172-349218 (Oct. 97)

Falcon Trading Group of England is importing from Belarus, the Moscow region of Russia, Ukraine, and Hungary. Current availability is about 1700 MT. Product is bagged in 50 lb or larger units, with a minimum order of 10 MT. Contact Phone +44 -1- 223 501227 Fax: +44 -1- 223 510764 Email: b.willin@virgin.net . The North American contact is Ian Hay at Logistic company in Canada. Email: Logistic@Stn.net. Phone 1-888-877-3323 Fax: +1-905-877-2224 (May 00)

Tianjin Industrial Export Company offers Chinese hulls. They have been exporting hulls to Korea since 1993, and they use their hulls to fill pillows for the Chinese market. Packaging is in 20 kg poly bags. They can deliver 1000 MT per year. Contact Ms. Shu-yuan Liu. Phone: +86-22-23142583 Fax: +86-22-23142585  Mail: 157, Da Gu Rd., Tianjin, China 300074. Email: tiiec@public1.tpt.tj.cn (Dec. 97, Jul. 99)

Winsor Trading Inc is a buckwheat producer/exporter supplying commercial quantities of buckwheat hulls around the world. P.O. Box 16367, Seattle, WA 98116 Phone: (206) 937-4082 Fax: (206) 935-5310 Email: Winsortr@qwest.net(Jan, Oct 98, Nov. 04)

Huafei International Co. of Dalian, China offers buckwheat hulls from their own factory. The dust content is less than 3%. They can supply 1000 MT/year. Please provide your requirements to Sales Manager Bruce Li Bin. Phone:+86 411 3623618 Fax:+86 411 3680843. E-mail: chdlkl@pub.dl.lnpta.net.cn (March 98)

Minn-Dak Growers Ltd of Grand Forks, ND has 600 lb totes available. Contact Steve Edwardson 701.746.7453 Fax: +1-701-780-9050  P.O. Box 13276, Grand Forks, ND 58208-3276. Email: minn-dak@corpcomm.net

J Trouw, B.V.of Rotterdam, Holland sells cleaned and dustfree hulls with a triangular shape for pillows from their own mill. They are in blue bags of 15 kg, sold either in palletss of 30 bags (450 kg) or 40-foot containers of 800 bags (12 metric tons).  Contact: Dirk Kik Tel 31-10-4866332 Fax +31-10-4860928   Piekstaat 63-65, 3071 RL Rotterdam, Holland.  Email: dkik@worldonline.nl (May 00)

Hebei Fucheng Import and Export Co. Ltd offers container loads of Chinese buckwheat hulls. They have been in the hull business since 1986 and have exported to America, Korea and England. The price (March 2001) is US$340/metric ton. Contact Lu Shutong TEL: 0086-318-4788940 FAX: 0086-318-4788941. 99,Hexi Street,Xiakou,Fucheng,Hebei,China E-mail: fchm@btamail.net.cn (Mar 01)

If anyone else is producing buckwheat hulls for sale, I would appreciate hearing about it at tnb1@cornell.edu.

Some notes on the production of buckwheat hulls.

Another potential concern is the dust from hulls and remnant flower parts. The airborne dust can be a significant allergen, also a concern with pillows. Again, consulting with the miller in advance is wise to assure that the hulls obtained are sufficiently separated from the dust. One manufacturer describes their process as "an exclusive hull cleaning process that uses screen sifting and vacuum cleaning to remove any buckwheat flour residue from the hulls." Another told me that a special beater to dislodge the dust from the hulls is needed in combination with the blower system.

Link to more information on cleaning hulls and on the potential allergic reaction.

Thomas Björkman
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Cornell University

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