The anniversary edition will take place on 22 October at Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia, bringing the regional grain and oilseed community together for a full day of market discussions, industry networking and business exchange.
Grain Academy returns for its 10th edition with a programme focused on the forces shaping grain markets in 2026, the prospects for recovering margins in trade and farming, and the changing dynamics of agribusiness across the Balkans and Southeast Europe.
The anniversary edition will take place on 22 October at Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia, bringing the regional grain and oilseed community together for a full day of market discussions, industry networking and business exchange.
Over the past decade, Grain Academy has established itself as a meeting point for market analysts, traders, processors, farmers and senior industry executives. Its 2026 edition builds on that role with discussions designed around the questions currently facing the sector: whether the multi-year bearish cycle is approaching its end, what could restore profitability along the value chain, and how regional markets are adapting to changing trade flows and market conditions.
A programme built around the market questions of 2026
The agenda moves from the wider global picture to the market realities of Southeast Europe, combining international market analysis with first-hand regional business experience. Three discussion panels will connect macroeconomics, supply and demand, trade flows, production, processing and profitability across different parts of the grain and oilseed value chain.
The opening panel, “Cross market relations. Money flows. Market trends and S&D for 2026,” will examine the forces influencing agricultural commodities from the top down. Dave Whitcomb of Peak Trading Research will follow the money through the commodity macro environment, Pierre Cera-Huelva of S&P Global Energy will focus on European markets in 2026, and Rossella Polito of Black Silo Commodity Consulting / Fryer’s Reports will bring a specialist view of the expanding durum wheat market.
From global forces to regional market realities
The second discussion panel, “The power of the Balkans, self sufficiency, specifics of the region and opportunities,” will take a closer look at five markets that share geography but operate with different production structures, processing capacities, domestic demand, export capabilities and trade patterns. The panel will bring together Leonardo Lambrea | UBM, Apostolos Anthomelidis | Nitsiakos, Begum Dak Sever | Ulusoy Un, Marko Slijepčević | Konzul and Stoyan Valev | Grainstore, combining perspectives from Romania, Greece, Türkiye, Serbia and Bulgaria.