GrainCom 2024 Conference Program
GrainCom 2024 Conference Agenda
DAY 1
Tuesday, May 14th
13.30
Registration
- Apollon Room
14.00
GrainCom opening remarks
Gert-Jan van Noortwijk, Founder, Graincom Events
14.15
Presentations / Panel
Farming for the Future
Future investing and development in world agriculture.
Presentations:
- Introduction – Dan Basse, Farm Foundation, USA
- Scientific Underpinning: the sense of urgency – Wijnand Sukkel, Scientist and Farming Systems Expert, Wageningen University
- FMO Perspective: unlocking financing for sustainable farming – Bram Reijen, Manager Agribusiness, Food & Water, FMO
- Back to the Roots: Practical Implementation by LoginEKO – Matej Gostiša (Head of Strategy) & Djura Karagić (senior agronomy lead), LoginEKO
Panel:
- Dan Basse (moderator), Farm Foundation, USA
- Bram Reijen, FMO
- Matej Gostiša, LoginEKO
- Jacques Pienaar, Commodity Insight Africa
16.15
Coffee Break
16.45
Presentation / Panel
Update on three important countries influencing the grain and oilseed markets.
Panel:
- Darin Friedrichs, Sitonia Consulting Limited, COFCO (invited) – China
- Dr Raphael Mandarino, AgResource – Brazil
- Sumit Gupta, McDonald Pelz – India
18.00-20.00
Brokers Cocktail
- Wilson Foyer and Glow Area
DAY 2
Wednesday, May 15th
09.00
GrainCom opening remarks
Gert-Jan van Noortwijk, Founder, Graincom Events
09.10
Presentation
World Grain and Oilseed Outlook, 2024/25 Campaign
Dan Basse, AgResource
09.50
Presentation
EU and Blacksea Grains and Oilseeds outlook, 2024/25 Campaign
Harm de Wilde, Cefetra
10.30
Panel
2024/25 Campaign, contrarian discussion agreeing or not with Dan Basse and Harm de Wilde.
Moderator:
Romuald Veru, CHS Europe
Panel:
- Jeff McPike, WASEDA – Americas
- Indrek Aigro, Copenhagen Merchant – Ukraine
- Dimitry Rylko, IKAR – Russia
- Chris Whitwell, Basis Commodities – Australia
- Europe
11.10
Refreshment Break – Collaborate and Connect
11.40
Panel
World Bio-Fuels situation – The influence of evolving EU and US biodiesel policies on global oilseed and vegoils markets.
Moderator:
Rory Deverell, Black-Silo
Panel:
- Charles Hary, Astra
- Damien Sagot, Total
- Ishan Bhanu, Kpler
- Artem Hammerschmidt, Cefetra
12.40
Lunch – Collaborate and Connect
14.00
Panel
How much new consumers trends impact procurement strategy?
Are we moving away from just feeding people to taking more into account nutrition, quality, sustainability, safety, traceability, localism?
Moderator:
Fabien Varagnac, Milling Sector Consultant
Panels:
- Hayden Wands, VP Global Procurement, Bimbo
- Gunhan Ulusoy, President, Ulusoy Un
- Forafric (invited)
- Invictus Trading (invited)
14.45
Presentation
Freight
Vincent Lemaitre, Serena Piazzo, Ifchor/Galbraiths
15.30
Refreshment Break – Collaborate and Connect
16.00
Presentation
Global Weather Outlook: What’s next after El Niño?
Kyle Tapley, Maxar
16.40
Panel
Food Security and Resilience
Grain Storage, Pricing and Convenience Yield in the Context of Geopolitics/Climate Change and Catastrophe Risk.
Moderator:
Yusuf Merchant, Peaceinvest
Panels:
Moderated and organized by Peaceinvest
17.40
Presentation / Panel
Disruptions in the trading markets, sanctions, navigating the rapidly evolving risk environment and challenges and opportunities posed by electronic bills of lading
Presentation:
Michael Buisset and Brian Perrott, Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW)
Panel:
- Michael Buisset (moderator)
- Maryana Stober, ADM, Associate General Counsel EMEA
- Milijana Zaric, Covantis, Head of Legal and Compliance
- Jaine Chisolm Caunt, GAFTA, Director General
18.30 – 23.00
Gala Evening
- Pool Terrasse, President Wilson Hotel
23.00
End of day 2
DAY 3
Thursday, May 16th
09.15
GrainCom opening remarks
Gert-Jan van Noortwijk, Founder, Graincom Events
09.30
Panel
Sustainability and all the aspects surrounding the industry needs, wishes and obligations.
Moderator:
Olyn San Miguel, Business Development, GMP+ International
Panel:
- Roland van der Post, MD, GMP+ International
- Lieven Callewaert, President, Round Table on Responsible Soy Association
- Christian Kobel, SGS
- Wei Peng, LDC
10.30
Refreshment Break – Collaborate and Connect
11.00
Presentation / Panel
Harnessing AI and Data Technology in the New Era of Grain Trading
The grain trading industry stands on the brink of transformation, propelled by the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data technologies. This paradigm shift is poised to revolutionize market analysis, supply chain, and strategic decision-making. GrainCom’s insightful panel will explore how AI and data are reinventing market predictions, supply chain logistics, and trade operations, setting a new standard for the industry.
Presentation:
Carolina Ferreira, OctopusBot
Panel: (organized by OctopusBot)
- Sacha Prost, CEO, AgFlow
- Jean-Noël Ardouin, Partner, Ernst & Young Ltd
- Mark Lepp, CEO, FarmLink Marketing Services
- Petya Sechanova, CEO, Covantis
12.00
Presentation / Panel
Presentations:
- Sharif Nezam Mafi – Regional geopolitical and food security forecast
- Amirhosein Afrashtehpour – Consolidation: a new era in Iranian grain market
- Amir Khoshoie – Effects of shipping, ports and operations over trade of grain in Iran
- Cyrus Siassi – Dispute resolution mechanisms for Iran related transactions/counterparts in the soft commodities sector
Panel: (organized by iranGrain)
- Sharif Nezam Mafi (moderator), Iran Switzerland Chamber of Commerce
- Amirhosein Afrashtehpour, Afra Holding
- Amir Khoshoie, Seawaves Shipping
- Cyrus Siassi, SIASSI MCCUNN BUSSARD
12.45
GrainCom Closing remarks
Gert-Jan van Noortwijk, Founder, Graincom Events
13.00
Lunch – Collaborate and Connect
15.00
