Argus Agriculture & Feedstocks Conference

Registration and breakfast

Chairperson's opening remarks

Geopolitics and macroeconomy: How is war and increasing protectionism reshaping trade routes and fuelling commodity volatility?

• Assessing food and energy prices and how it has led to inflationary pressures in the past few years. What is the future?
• US president-elect Donald Trump’s second term. What does it mean for the Russia Ukrainian war and the US-China trade war, among other relations around the world? Looking at US import and export policies.
• What are the long term implications of shifting supply chains and trade routes for global economic stability and resilience? What role can alternative energy sources play in mitigating the impact of oil price volatility on the global economy?
• The dominance of long-term factors such as population growth in driving agricultural prices versus the more cyclical nature of energy and industrial commodity prices.

Argus’s view on global grains and oilseeds snapshot and outlook: pricing, evaluating risk and opportunities in the market

• Where are we in terms of production and what is the pricing outlook? What are the current market conditions for agriculture and energy commodities?
• How do we see the market evolving in the next 5-10 years?
• What is the crop progress in the northern hemisphere? What were the harvest developments of the last crop, or what will be its developments

Networking coffee break

Trader perspectives: What are the key pricing and fundamentals trends in global grains, oilseeds and feedstock markets, and what can we expect in coming years?

• The global wheat markets are becoming more prompt as rising state intervention and subsidies limit farmer selling in major exporting countries; this state intervention has provoked a shift away from traditional FOB sales to destination CNF deals;
• With China's wheat production at all time highs; changing custom regulations impacting the country's soybeans buying pace; and supressed feed grains demand, what will the coming year herald for the world's top agricultural importer?
• How do trade agreements and tensions, such as US-China relations and Mercosur-EU, affect the availability, competitiveness and trade flows for agricultural and feedstock products?
• Will we see Latin America and Asia emerge as important feedstock suppliers in the near future to meet EU mandates?
• Managing basis risk remains a key challenge in the global grains markets, with previous attempts hampered - Black Sea grains hedging tools - where do we go from here?

Risk management strategies in the agriculture and energy world

• How can industry manage price risk? What tools are available?
• How is hedging achieved given current geopolitical circumstances? What is the need for new hedging tools and trade practices?
• How do fluctuations in global commodity prices (e.g., corn, sugarcane, soy) impact biofuel production costs and profitability? What hedging tools can the biofuel industry use to mitigate risks tied to feedstock price volatility?
• Shifting weather patterns and climate change: How to mitigate the risk. How are extreme weather events and shifting climatic patterns affecting global crop yields and trade flows? What technologies are available to mitigate the detrimental effects of weather on crops?

Networking lunch break

The evolution of agriculture and its importance in fuelling the bioeconomy

• What is the future of grains and oilseeds production? How can the industry successfully champion grains and oilseeds as sustainable feedstock for the energy transition?
• How has agriculture transitioned from traditional food and fibre production to becoming a critical provider of renewable feedstocks for energy, chemicals, and materials?
• What advancements in agricultural practices (e.g., precision farming, regenerative agriculture) are enabling higher productivity and sustainability for bio-based industries?
• How are agribusiness’ diversifying revenue streams by supplying bioenergy feedstocks, such as corn for ethanol, soy for biodiesel, or manure for biomethane?
• How can agriculture contribute to carbon sequestration and mitigate climate change?

The defining role of bio-energy in the coming years: What does it mean for the agriculture world?

With countries accelerating their use of agriculture feedstocks for biofuels, such as Brazilian and Indian corn for ethanol and Indonesian palm oil for biodiesel and SAF, what will it mean for agriculture products’ supply and demand?

• How long will bio-energy be applicable for the agriculture industry as a demanding party for grains, soybeans, rapeseed, sugarcane, corn and other agriculture products? What have been the takeaways from biofuel produced from food crops in countries that are well established such as Brazil, US, India?
• How resilient is the bioenergy sector to economic shocks like supply chain disruptions or fluctuating energy prices?
• How will shortages in the vegetable oil market influence food consumption and at the same time the biofuels market? Will we see substitutes with rapeseed?
• How can farmers and energy companies collaborate to establish supply chains and ensure long-term market growth?

Networking coffee break

Cross-sector initiatives: What partnerships are emerging between agriculture and energy companies?

Fostering collaboration with agricultural stakeholders to ensure sustainable and equitable access to feedstock resources. What partnerships between agribusinesses, energy companies, and technology providers are unlocking value for rural economies and what are the best practices for integrating agriculture and bioenergy sectors in Europe?

• Finding the right partnerships in the agriculture and energy worlds to ensure farmers and trading firms are integrated in the energy transition so they can procure competitive feedstocks. What partnerships, joint ventures and acquisitions are we seeing, and what do they mean for cross-sectional investment?
• How are oil and biofuel companies partnering with agriculture companies to promote advocacy in coprocessing to enhance these supply chains?
• How do these partnerships translate into feedstock demand, and how will they change competitive landscape for biofuels and demand from the agriculture sector?
• How can these partnerships enhance the overall sustainability of European agriculture and energy systems?

Are EU policies and regulations hindering key opportunities for the agriculture and energy sectors?

• How can EU Agricultural Policies align with broader energy transition goals? How can integrated policy approaches encourage synergies between agricultural practices and renewable energy investments?
• How are the EUDR, IRA, CBAM, and RED III shifting agriculture demand? How are regulations and incentives reshaping the market and creating new opportunities for the agriculture and energy sectors? How will they affect trade into Europe?
• What impact does the EU Green Deal, Fit for 55 and other biofuels policies globally have on international trade and feedstock sourcing? What regulations are we seeing around feedstocks in the EU?
• Will we see the development of an agriculture emissions trading system, and what opportunities exist for agriculture to participate in the EU carbon trading schemes?

Chairperson's closing remarks

Drinks reception