New perspectives for grains and oilseeds sectors Provides the opportunity for high level speakers from IGC members and the AMIS chairman to give their views on the latest grains market developments.
Economic and Trade policies uncertainty and its impact on the grains and oilseeds markets Several financial institutions are revisiting world growth prospects and trade expansion for 2019. Beyond the economical and trade policy uncertainties, the discussion would address the main factors the grains and oilseeds trade.
Geographical snapshot: Africa grains and oilseeds markets opportunities The raise of African population to 2.1 billion people and the result of transformation of food demand would increase the connection of Africa to the world markets. The session will focus on the economical, structural challenges of the Africa region in the grains and oilseeds market. This session would provide an insight on potential private initiatives.
How new technologies and climate change can shape the grains and oilseeds sectors Following the COP 24, Climate Change actions are taking the major part of the debate on future sustainable food system. The discussion should focus on the new technologies providing opportunities for supply chains operators to adapt their practices ( e.g smart farming, artificial intelligence …).
Trade finance: New developments in risk mitigation Looking beyond uncertainties include looking on trading solution to mitigate financial risk. The panel discussion would highlight the new opportunities and developments in finance trading activities to help the businesses to cope with uncertainty.
Drivers and hurdle for industrial processing of maize Speakers will provide their views on the future of industrial maize processing in the world’s top actors, including the US, China and the EU, focusing on the production of ethanol and starches. Apart from highlighting the major points of growth and emerging trends, the panellists are expected to dwell upon possible challenges for the sector, not least related to blending volumes in the USA, plans for nationwide ethanol standard in China and new applications for starch and starch co-products in the EU.
World biodiesel trends and impact on feedstock usage Against the backdrop of increased interest in the diversification of energy sources, the expansion of global biodiesel markets over the past two decades has been driven by policies aimed at boosting production and demand. Blending mandates have been key to the development of the industry, with favourable tax and investment policies also central, while the sector is shaped by many other factors, including sustainability criteria and fuel quality standards. World biodiesel production has grown sharply over the past 10 years, to become a small but important source of demand growth for vegetable oils, namely palm oil, rapeseed/canola oil and soybean oil. While these traditional products account for the bulk of all feedstocks utilised, other advanced raw materials have become increasingly important, including animal fats, vegetable oil waste and residues and used cooking oils. Given the current economic and policy backdrop, the workshop seeks to foster discussion as to the medium-term outlook for world biodiesel production and the likely impact on feedstock use trends. This is a particularly salient issue as governments in a number of countries look to gradually phase out vehicles powered by traditional fossil fuels and switch to electrification over the longer-term.
Rice prices: volatile, opaque and with inadequate hedging options – how best to manage price risk in the rice trade ? While the lack of transparency is partly an inevitable result of a highly complex, fragmented, thinly traded and largely non-perishable commodity, it helps breed instability and volatility. Furthermore, due to the lack of an effective futures market, participants are denied effective hedging opportunities which in turn restricts access to financing options for farmers, which then in turn restricts consolidation of rice farms which hampers productivity (although other factors are of course at play Speakers will address the efforts made to establish a futures market, yet how feasible is it? Are there other options open to managing risk in rice, for example new technology such as blockchain? Will improved transparency breed the right conditions for a futures markets, and if so – how can market participants be encouraged to embrace transparency?
Recent market developments and prospects for flour and wheat products demand “Food continues to be the main driver of wheat demand gains around the world. The popularity of wheat-based products is still growing, with the pace of increase now the fastest in parts of Africa and Asia. While per capita use is still relatively low in these areas, expanding populations, rising incomes and greater interest in non-traditional foods, mean consumption has significant increase potential. What can growers, food manufacturers, retailers and importers/exporters do to promote sustained demand growth in both established and developing markets?”
What factors will shape the future of the grains shipping sector? The workshop will cover the recent trends in the global dry bulk freight sector, including the dynamics in transportation costs on major grains and oilseeds routes and fleet development. Additionally, the speakers will look at key factors, which are likely to influence the global shipping landscape in the near future, including the implementation of new emissions-related regulations and the introduction of innovative technologies.
Please check back for programme updates Updated 17 Jan 2019
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