Grain market problems discussed online

Online business forum “Grain of Russia: A New Reality” was held on May 29, 2020. The forum is an industry business platform where participants can get answers to urgent problems directly from experts. The event’s organizer is Agribusiness Magazine.

In total, the conference attended 1680 people. Among the participants were agrarians from 68 regions of Russia and also agrarians from Finland, the Netherlands, the USA, Austria, France, Ukraine, Germany, Turkey, Australia and the UK.

The welcome speech took Valery Kochergin, Director of the Agribusiness Magazine. The next “Grain of Russia” forum will be held offline in February 2021.

During the first session, the participants discussed the grain market under the conditions of a changed reality.

Andrey Morunkov, Plant Production Director of PenzaMolInvest (part of Damate), spoke about the state of crops on the fields of Damate in the Penza region. Despite the prolonged rains in the Volga region, Andrey Morunkov gave an optimistic forecast. They expect the yield of the winter and spring wheat to reach up to 4 tons per 1 hectare this year.

Professor of Voronezh State Agrarian University Sergey Goncharov answered the question “What to expect from winter wheat crop?”. His predictions are as follows: the yield in the Central Black Earth Region and the Volga region may exceed the average indicators by 5-10%. The yield in the Southern Federal District may decrease by 10-20%.

Vitaly Shamaev, General Director of “Agrospeaker”, reported on a subject: “Russian agriculture: Tons and money 2020/21”. He spoke about the impact of Covid-19 on the world grain markets. Business recession (according to PMI index), administrative barriers and ruble strengthening are the main risks for the new crop in the market.

Olga Grab, Agricultural Market Analyst of Refinitiv, also spoke about the Russian grain market in 2020/21. She noted a high level of uncertainty in the market.

The second session of the forum was devoted to the sale of grain.

Daria Snitko, Head of the Economic Forecasting Center of Gazprombank, reported on the world grain markets. She reviewed the current situation and economic trends in the markets of the countries of export of Russian grain (such as Turkey and Egypt). In her opinion, the situation for Russian exporters will improve.

Mikhail Khanov, Director of the Novorossiysk branch of Grain Quality Assessment Center, reported on the topic “The grain market in Russia: problems and prospects”. He reviewed the current situation in the Russian grain market and production and gave a forecast for the next season.

Aminat Suleymanova, Managing partner of AGA Partners, particularized on the topic related to force-majeure circumstances in international grain contracts. The Covid-19 pandemic had a negative influence on the performance of international trade obligations. Aminat spoke about the methods for resolving such the circumstances.

Arslan Baybulatov, Sales Director of TatAgroprom, completing the session, spoke about the current role of traders in the sale of grain. He also noted the importance of choosing a reliable trader and the problems agricultural producers face.

The final third session of the forum was devoted to grain logistics.

Artem Belyaev, General Director of Belaya Dacha Farming, reported on the topic “Digital Grain Chain platform as a tool for optimizing the processes of concluding grain purchase/sale transactions and their transportation”. The speaker demonstrated how easily and quickly to find the transporter and conclude the transaction.

Sergey Sokolov, Deputy Chairman of Committee on Agriculture of Opora Russia, spoke about the implementation of the agricultural projects. He reviewed the structure of the Russian export and world import of finished products. Sergey also researched the potential capacity of production and export of grain from Russia until 2024.

Anna Mayorova, Director of Agriculture Development of Atlas Chain, showed the advantages of the complex approach to transportations in the agriculture area. The company currently unites 8.8 thousand of grain carriers.

The final speaker of the forum was Oleg Dunaev, Director of the Logistics Strategic Development Center. He spoke about the challenges and prospects for the development of the grain market. The speaker also noted the risks and barriers (and their solutions) for the development of grain logistics.