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Acquisitions and Divestitures - Acquisitions (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2015 Company	Jan. 31, 2014 Acquisition	Jan. 31, 2014 Acquisition	Oct. 31, 2014
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of Acquisitions	0us-gaap_NumberOfBusinessesAcquired	2us-gaap_NumberOfBusinessesAcquired
Purchase Price, net of Cash	$ 0.4us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesNetOfCashAcquired	$ 52.3us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesNetOfCashAcquired
Goodwill	836.7us-gaap_Goodwill			880.2us-gaap_Goodwill
Total 2014 Acquisitions [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of Acquisitions			2us-gaap_NumberOfBusinessesAcquired / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gef_TwoThousandFourteenAcquisitionsMember
Purchase Price, net of Cash			52.3us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesNetOfCashAcquired / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gef_TwoThousandFourteenAcquisitionsMember
Tangible Assets, net		2.5us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedPropertyPlantAndEquipment / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gef_TwoThousandFourteenAcquisitionsMember	2.5us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedPropertyPlantAndEquipment / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gef_TwoThousandFourteenAcquisitionsMember
Intangible Assets		22.1us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedIntangibleAssetsOtherThanGoodwill / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gef_TwoThousandFourteenAcquisitionsMember	22.1us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedIntangibleAssetsOtherThanGoodwill / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gef_TwoThousandFourteenAcquisitionsMember
Goodwill		$ 25.9us-gaap_Goodwill / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gef_TwoThousandFourteenAcquisitionsMember	$ 25.9us-gaap_Goodwill / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gef_TwoThousandFourteenAcquisitionsMember

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Amount of intangible assets, excluding goodwill, acquired at the acquisition date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 805

-SubTopic 20

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (c)

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The amount of property, plant, and equipment recognized as of the acquisition date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 805

-SubTopic 20

-Section 50

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Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

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The number of businesses acquired by the entity during the period.

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The cash outflow associated with the acquisition of a business, net of the cash acquired from the purchase.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Glossary Investing Activities

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6516133



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