Three days in Dubai
The third Global Grain and Pulses Forum ran at InterContinental Dubai Festival City from 17 to 19 February 2025. More than 1,100 delegates from 53 countries attended over the three working days, and the programme covered grain, oilseed and pulse trade together.
The delegate list covered the length of the supply chain: producers and exporters of grains, pulses and oilseeds, importers, traders and brokers, and the logistics, finance, insurance and inspection companies that move the cargo, alongside analysts and industry associations. MENA, Asia, Africa and the Black Sea region were all represented.
What was discussed
The agenda took the transformation of grain and oilseed trade as its starting point and worked outwards: access to new markets, logistics, payment mechanisms and exchange instruments. Pulses were treated as a trade category in their own right rather than an appendix to grain.
Much of the programme was built for direct contact between suppliers and buyers. B2B meetings, structured networking formats and the Grain Gala Dinner ran alongside the sessions, and the three-day length gave delegates room to hold a sequence of meetings rather than one.
Why it mattered
The edition confirmed the forum as an independent international venue rather than a national showcase, and strengthened Dubai’s position as a neutral hub for agricultural trade and a meeting point for companies operating across changing global routes.
