The first edition
Grain Trade Africa opened at the Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski in Cairo on 7–8 October 2025. It was the first edition of the conference, and it drew more than 120 delegates from 16 countries over the two days.
The room was built from both ends of the trade. Delegations came from Egypt, Kenya, Pakistan, the UAE, Oman, Singapore, Turkey, Russia and a number of European countries, and alongside exporters and African importers sat traders, logistics providers, banks and insurers.
What was discussed
The programme began with the global grain and feed market and food security in Africa before turning to the working questions: new trade routes, logistics, financing and export risk. A separate strand looked at where Russian agricultural products now sit in African supply chains.
Cairo was a deliberate choice. Egypt buys more wheat than any other country, Africa accounts for around 20% of global grain trade, and the continent took 58 million tonnes of wheat in the 2023/24 season. Egypt was treated as a strategic import market in its own right.
What it established
For a first edition the test was whether the meetings happened, and much of the value sat between the sessions. Exporters and African buyers negotiated directly, with trade finance, banking support and risk management handled by the people in the room rather than afterwards.
