Strengthening Global Grain Trade and Iran’s Grain Imports Highlighted at Sochi 2025 International Congress
A global event to strengthen trade relations, food security and exchange of innovations in the field of grain and agriculture
The 4th All-Russian Grain Conference, held in the coastal city of Sochi from May 28 to 31, 2025, has successfully concluded. The event, which was organized by the Russian Grain Exporters and Producers Union (RUSGRAIN UNION) and officially supported by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, began in 2022 and in a short time has managed to transform itself from a national meeting into an international platform for exchanging experiences, examining challenges, and expanding business cooperation in the fields of grain and agriculture.
Grain Suppliers Flock to Sochi Conference
The fourth edition of the conference was held by more than 1000 industry participants from different countries, including producers, exporters, representatives of transport companies, government agencies, banks and trading platforms. In addition, 50 prominent speakers from different countries discussed the global grain market outlook, the impact of geopolitical conditions, export strategies, technological capabilities and the future of industrial agriculture in specialized sessions and analytical panels.
Some of the keynote speakers at the conference included:
- Eduard Zernin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of RUSGRAIN UNION
- Igor Pavensky, Director of Agricultural Market Research at Demetra Holding
- Michel Meyer, Director of Grain Trading at Invictus Trading FZE
- Dr. Eren Günhan Ulusoy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ulusoy Flour Mills and Regional Director of IAOM in Eurasia
- Stas Ognev, Senior Trader at Solaris Commodities
- Oga Venkat, Regional Director for the Middle East and Africa at Cargill International SA
- Saeid Rad, Deputy Minister of Agriculture-Jihad of Iran and CEO of Government Trading Corporation of Iran (GTC)
The speeches of these figures, especially on topics such as logistics innovations, climate change, export policymaking, and forecasting the global grain market, were widely welcomed by the participants.
Innovation Pavilion: An Initiative to Introduce Agricultural Technologies
One of the innovative features of this edition was the establishment of a dedicated pavilion to introduce technologies and innovations in the Russian agricultural sector, which was implemented for the first time at this conference. The pavilion attracted the attention of many international visitors and provided a platform for introducing modern machinery, digital tools in agriculture and new achievements in seed production and improving productivity.
CEO of GTC: 95% of Iran’s Wheat and Sunflower Oil Are Supplied from Russia
The Islamic Republic of Iran had a prominent and effective presence at this conference. Saeid Rad, Deputy Minister of Agriculture-Jihad and CEO of Government Trading Corporation of Iran (GTC), spoke at one of the main panels. While expressing his gratitude to the Russian Grain Association and the organizers, he emphasized that GTC, as the only official institution responsible for supplying the country with wheat and oilseeds, imports more than 95% of Iran’s wheat and sunflower oil from Russia.
He noted that GTC imports depend on the volume of guaranteed purchases from domestic farmers, and that foreign purchases usually begin after the end of the harvest season, i.e. after September. He also mentioned the expected quality indicators for imported wheat: protein above 11.5 percent, gluten above 26 percent, and moisture within the standard range. He emphasized that GTC purchases, whether from northern or southern ports, are made on a CFR basis, and the main condition is payment, unloading, and clearance of goods.
He also added: In recent years, our trade relations with Russian companies have been without challenges, and we hope that cooperation will develop further by removing banking barriers between the two countries. The Iranian Ministry of Agriculture-Jihad and the Russian Ministry of Agriculture also have bilateral cooperation on the agenda in the field of supplying grains and basic goods.
The Role of the Iranian Private Sector in Specialized Panels
Along with the government sector, representatives of the Iranian private sector also had an active presence in this international conference. Dr. Kaveh Zargaran, President of Iran Grains Union, and Amirhossein Afrashtehpour, Commercial Director of Afra Holding Company and member of the Board of Directors of the iranGrain Conference, discussed the challenges and opportunities of grain trade between Iran and Russia in a dedicated panel. While providing statistics on the amount of domestic production and the country’s import needs, they pointed out legal issues, currency fluctuations, and difficulties in international payments, and offered solutions to facilitate these processes.
iranGrain Connecting with the Russian Market
On the sidelines of the conference, the iranGrain conference executive team established effective connections with Russian companies and other international partners by attending business meetings and negotiation sessions. The team aims to see a wider presence of representatives from Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and other CIS countries at the iranGrain 2025 conference, which will be held on September 30th and October 1st, 2025 at the Esteghlal Hotel in Tehran.
Publication of a Professional Special Issue on the Sochi Conference
During the conference, Negashteh, as the only international specialized grain media in Iran and the official media partner of the Sochi Conference, had an active and effective presence. The publication will soon publish a comprehensive and trilingual special issue (Persian, Russian and English) that will include lectures, panels, specialized articles and interviews with some of the officials present at the conference. This special issue will be prepared as a reference source for grain industry activists and trade policymakers, and its printed version will be distributed among the Iranian grain community. Multimedia versions of this special issue will also be available on the official website of the Sochi Conference, Negashteh’s website and the BricsGrain platform.
Russia Hosts Largest International Grain Event with Representatives from 50 Countries
The 4th All-Russian Grain Congress, held in the coastal city of Sochi from May 28 to 31, 2025, was recognized as one of the largest and most influential international events in the field of grain and agriculture. The conference, which was initiated by the Russian Grain Exporters and Producers Union (RUSGRAIN UNION) and officially supported by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, hosted more than 1000 participants from different countries, including producers, exporters, representatives of transport companies, banks and government agencies.
50 prominent speakers from around the world, including Eduard Zernin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of RUSGRAIN UNION, Igor Pavensky, Director of Agricultural Market Research at Demetra Holding, Michel Meyer, Director of Grain Trading at Invictus Trading FZE, and Dr. Eren Günhan Ulusoy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ulusoy Flour Mills and Regional Director of IAOM Eurasia, discussed topics such as the global grain market outlook, the impact of geopolitical changes, logistics innovations, export policy and new agricultural technologies in specialized sessions. For the first time, a dedicated booth was dedicated to introducing Russian technologies and innovations in the field of agriculture, which attracted great attention from visitors.
One of the highlights of the session was the active presence of Iran, with a speech by Mr. Saeid Rad, Deputy Minister of Agriculture-Jihad and CEO of Government Trading Corporation of Iran (GTC), who announced that more than 95 percent of Iran’s wheat and sunflower oil imports come from Russia. Representatives of the Iranian private sector, including Dr. Kaveh Zargaran, President of the Iran Grains Union, and Amirhossein Afrashtehpour, Commercial Director of Afra Holding and member of the Board of Directors of the iranGrain Conference, discussed the panel titled “Challenges and Opportunities in Grain Trade between Iran and Russia,” and emphasized the need to facilitate international payments and remove logistical obstacles.
On the sidelines of the conference, the executive team of the iranGrain conference attended with the aim of developing regional and international business relations and planned to increase the participation of Russian and CIS companies in the upcoming conference in Iran.
The specialized publication of Negashteh, as the Media Partner of this event, will soon publish a comprehensive special issue in three languages: Persian, Russian, and English, which includes key speeches, analyses, and interviews from the conference, and will be recognized as a reliable source for grain industry activists around the world.
