Agenda Overview
Day One: Tuesday 1 March 2016
14:00 - 17:30 Asia-Pacific Millers Workshop in association with AgFlow
17:30 - 20:00 Evening welcome cocktail reception
Day Two: Wednesday 2 March 2016
08:15 Registration and morning refreshments
09:00 Chairperson’s opening remarks
- Greg Harvey, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Interflour Holdings Ltd
09:15 Global grains and oilseeds outlook: analysing the key drivers underpinning the markets
Highlights and conclusions for the current year and observations for the 2015/2016 season
- Production update - analysing the production environment of key grains and oilseeds regions
- Supply cushions, crush capacities and consumption rates - does demand match supply?
- Have we reached a low point for grain prices following the end of the commodity supercycle?
- Are we in a transitional period in grains and oilseeds markets?
- Emily French, Managing Director, ConsiliAgra
10:15 Regional economic overview: assessing the impact of the global and regional macroeconomic factors on the grains and oilseeds market
- How does the price of the US Dollar impact the fundamentals of commodity markets globally?
- Assessing the impact of China’s economic slowdown on other economies in the region
- Currency devaluations - is another Asian crisis looming?
- Geopolitics and the Asian grain markets - how will the TPP, ASEAN integration and other geopolitical factors affect trade flows?
10:45 Morning refreshments and networking break
11:30 Origin markets focus: the fight for the Asian market
This session will feature individual presentations highlighting quality, price and volume statistics for Asia’s key grains and oilseeds origins followed by a panel discussion regarding the changing competitive position of these regions.
- Australia: does Australia’s quality and proximity still give it a competitive edge?
- North America: what is North America growing and is it what Asian end-users need?
- South America: will Asian end-users become more ever more reliant on South American soy?
- Black Sea: will the Black Sea continue to capture market share as prices and freight rates fall and quality stabilises?
- Moderator: Emily French, Managing Director, ConsiliAgra
- Kevin Roepke, Regional Director, South and Southeast Asia, U.S. Grains Council
- Natalie Maguire, Regional Marketing Manager - South Asia, CBH Group
- Oksana Starina, Trader, Leader Trading Commodities LLC
- Viktor Korobko, Director, Veles Agro
- Dr Larisa Cato, Wheat Quality & Technical Markets Manager, AEGIC
- Adolfo Jiminez-Castellanos, Product Line Manager - GOSC Asia, Cargill
- Ezequiel Hajnal, Director, Agrosud SA
13:00 Networking lunch
14:15 China soybean meal demand review and hot topics for the year ahead
- Review of Chinese protein demand in 2014/2015
- Outlook for grains/protein demand in 2016
- Soybean meal and corn market trends
- Fundamentals: profiling the macroeconomic environment in China
- Wang Lin, Managing Director, COFCO Futures
14:45 Analysing the procurement strategies of Asia Pacific end-users of grains and oilseeds
- What are the quality and price requirements for Asia Pacific millers?
- How does Black Sea wheat fit into the Asia-Pacific millers’ mix? What are the constraints?
- Buying spot vs forward - which strategies are winning?
- How will feed and flour millers react to an upturn in commodity prices?
- How are currency fluctuations affecting procurement strategies in the region?
- Are margins large enough to absorb currency fluctuations?
- How do procurement specialists overcome the challenges associated with increasing supply-side competition?
- Moderator: Dr Neoh Soon Bin, Managing Director, Soon Soon Group
- Winston Hsu, Director, PT. Satwa Boga Sempurna
- Dao Manh Luong, CEO, Austfeed Vietnam Corporation
- Greg Harvey, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Interflour Holdings Ltd
- Arif Widjaja, Senior VP, Head of Trading Division, PT Japfa Comfeed Indonesia
15:30 Afternoon refreshments and networking break
16:15 An overview of the expanding Indonesian wheat flour industry: how large can it grow?
- Putting the Indonesian flour industry in perspective - imports, capacity, consumption and exports
- Has Indonesian domestic flour demand stabilised or will we continue to see changing diets increase demand?
- How has Indonesia become a value-adding hub through the re-exportation of flour?
- Franciscus Welirang, Chief Executive Officer, PT Bogasari Flour Mills and Chairman, Indonesian Wheat Flour Mills Association
16:45 Changing patterns in Asia’s feed grains and protein meal demand: are alternatives to soybean meal a reality?
- Profiling Asian livestock production and an update on changes in the livestock sector
- Assessing the supply and quality of feed grains and protein meals to Asia
- How the protein mix is changing - what new competitive feed and meal sources are available?
- Dr. Neoh Soon Bin, Managing Director, Soon Soon Group
17:15 End of day two and networking drinks reception
Day Three: Wednesday 3 March 2016
08:30 Registration and morning refreshments
09:00 Chairperson's opening remarks
- Charles Carey, Board Member, CME Group and Board Member, BM&FBOVESPA
09:10 Spot pricing in the Asia-Pacific seaborne wheat market
- Australian spot price update, underlying trends and selected market metrics
- What is a robust spot price assessment and how can it be used?
- Exploring the potential for cash-settled regional wheat futures
- Market evolution: How does wheat compare with other major commodity markets?
- Julien Hall, Senior Managing Editor Agriculture - Asia, Platts
09:30 Traders’ panel: assessing the opportunities and concerns of traders in the region
- New markets and changing demand - how are traders set up to capitalise on opportunities in the region?
- How do both consolidation and new entrants affect trading in the region?
- Adapting to compete in a low-price market
- Moderator: Joel Lou, Global Managing Director, Agriculture, Allegro Development
- Luke Mason, Head of Grains, Asia, Concordia Agri Trading Pte Ltd
- Brett Donoghue, Director, Agracom Pty Ltd
- Adam Wilkinson, Grain Trader, VITOL
- Tom Guthrie, Trading Manager, Asia Wheat, Noble Agri
- Robin Ong, Manager - Grains Trade, ADM Asia Pacific
10:30 How can suppliers and consumers work together on establishing sustainability in supply chains?
- The growing importance of sustainability in food supply chains - is sustainability the new quality?
- How can retailers and manufacturers engage their full supply chain in successfully sourcing sustainable grains and oilseeds?
- The importance of long term partnerships to maintain sustainability goals
- Mark Torrens, Commodities & Risk Manager, Mars Petcare
11:00 Morning refreshments and networking break
11:30 Weather trends and the global grain markets: is La Niña on the horizon?
- What was the real impact of the historically strong El Niño? Did it play out as expected and what were the effects on the grain markets?
- Is a transition to La Niña likely to occur and what impact could it have on global crop yields and production?
- Early expectations for the upcoming Northern Hemisphere growing season
- Kyle Tapley, Senior Agricultural Meteorologist, Weather Services, MDA Information Systems LLC
12:00 Following developments in India and Bangladesh: what progress has been made in these markets?
- Update on current levels of wheat and soy exported to other Asian countries
- What do India’s domestic policies look like and how will these affect grain exports?
- Assessing the price and quality of Indian and Bangladeshi origin grains and the appetite of Asia-Pacific end users for them
- How can traders find value in Indian and Bangladeshi grain?
- Sumit Gupta, Business Manager, Gargaon, India, McDonald Pelz
12:30 Assessing the consolidation of assets in Australia: what are the implications for the market?
- How have recent consolidations worked out?
- What are the implications on the supply chain and the farm gate prices?
- What new asset allocations could be on the horizon and how could these affect the markets?
- Geoff Barker, Principal, Berkstock Pty Ltd
13:00 Close of conference followed by brunch sponsored by Asia Pacific Grain Traders