International Grains Council

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Building Resilience to Global Market Vulnerabilities

Recent history has demonstrated that disruptive events can pose significant challenges to global supply chains. As the world emerges from the turmoil inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the focus increasingly turns to climate change, building resilience to future shocks is at the top of the agenda. This is particularly true when discussing life-vital systems, of which food is paramount. Furthermore, efforts to boost resilience at a national level may have consequences for global markets, which are vital for food security in deficit regions.

Addressing resilience to vulnerabilities in global food systems requires policy makers and private enterprise to share knowledge, expertise and opinions. As such, the International Grains Council (IGC) is uniquely positioned: it has long been regarded as a global forum where such discussions can take place, with the annual IGC Grains Conference bringing together key players from the public and private sectors.

The 2022 Conference will be held in a hybrid format on 7 & 8 June 2022 in central London. Featuring contributions from speakers in pre-recorded format and live, the event will focus on a number of key topics, including supply chain vulnerabilities, sustainability as well as related climate change mitigation policies, and will be centred around four main sessions:

Economic growth, with a special focus on infrastructure and logistical investments required to cope with shocks throughout the supply chain;
Sustainability criteria and new trade policies in agricultural commodities;
Carbon trading schemes and their potential use as a tool to incentivise climate change mitigation measures in the grains trade sector;
The future of biofuels within the context of renewable energy policy, particularly in the transportation sector.

Asia will be the regional focus of the Conference, including an examination of trends in food demand, particularly the substitution between rice and wheat. Furthermore, day two of the event will include a number of commodity-specific workshops covering topical issues affecting markets for wheat, rice, oilseeds and pulses. In coordination with the Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA) and the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC), the IGC Grains Conference is part of a series of industry events which will be held in London, under the banner "London Grains Week 2022". As such, this will ensure unique visibility for sponsors.