Miller Magazine Issue: 127 July 2020

70 INTERVIEW MILLER / JULY 2020 fueled by technology. Movement of households into the middle class will continue raising meat demand.” Florent Beluche of J.S. Morgan, the U.S. investment bank, was cautious about future demand because of the increase in poverty. "There is definitely a shift in demand (away from meat and other high-cost foods) but we are also likely to see a drop in demand," said Beluche. “The type of flow we see from producers, consumers and trade houses has not really changed over the past few months. Several consumers have taken advantage of low prices to extend price cover on longer maturities. However many stayed on the sideline as markets collapsed”. Here is IGC Executive Director Arnaud Petit’s answers to Miller Magazine’s questions regarding the virtual con- ference. International conferences and events in many dif- ferent industries, including the grain industry, were canceled or postponed. IGC did not cancel its annual conference. You moved the conference to the virtual platform. What was the motivation behind this deci- sion? One of the objectives of the IGC is to provide the latest cereals, oilseeds, pulses and rice market information to further international trade and we, therefore, considered it was of utmost importance to go ahead with the 29th IGC Grains Conference at this uncertain time. The IGC’s Conference is also unique in providing a broad platform of discussions between the public and the private sec- tors. A good dialogue allows the global food system to be dynamic and address the new challenges. Are you satisfied with par- ticipation and interest in the virtual conference? Having a digital conference and keeping an internation- al audience was the real chal- lenge but we are satisfied by the number of attendees, close to 400 attendees from 54 coun- tries. We are also satisfied with the engagement of the trading sector. The close collaboration with the International Grain Trade Coalition was fruitful. Up today, the number of views is over 4200, which demonstrates the quality of the speakers. I use this opportunity to announce the registration is still open and videos, presentations and Q&A sessions will be available till De- cember 2020. What kind of feedback did you receive from the delegates about the virtual conference? Despite the distance, we managed lively debates among 64 speakers worldwide. The effort to get a ses- sion for each relevant cereals, oilseeds, rice and pulses market to discuss the recent market development and challenges for the next marketing year was definitive- ly “a plus”. Having the entire value chain of the sector, from the supply industry to the trade finance is also a value-added of the conference. In the other hand, an international conference allows to get contacts in a nice atmosphere and face to face meetings. That was not part of our project for this year. If we have to run another exclusive digital conference, the opportunity to get face to face meetings with the digital tool would be developed. When the world goes back to normality after the pandemic, would you consider continuing virtual con- ferences? What advantages does the virtual confer- ence have? London is an amazing hub for the grains, oilseeds and rice sector. All services, including trade finance, are lo- cated in here. This is why we have set up the “London Grains Week” together with GAFTA, IGTC and AHDB. We intend to develop a broad range of activities next year. But the very positive experience of the digital con- ference show there is also a place to provide as well this type of service.