The summit
The Oils & Oilseeds Trade Summit was held at the JW Marriott Hotel Marina in Dubai on 26 January 2026, a single day set immediately before the World Grain and Pulses Forum. More than 200 participants from 49 countries attended.
The room was specialist rather than general: oilseed processors and producers, exporters and importers of vegetable oils, traders and brokers, logistics, insurance and inspection companies, equipment suppliers and industry experts, with the processing side of the trade represented as well as the trading side.
What was discussed
Discussion opened on the state and outlook of the global vegetable oil and oilseed market, then moved to the transformation under way in it and the growing positions of Russia and Kazakhstan. Forecasts for crops, prices and trading geography in the 2025/26 season followed.
A central session examined Russian exports of oils and fats, the difficulties and the openings, and the gradual movement of oilseed, pulse and grain trade eastwards. The effect of geopolitics and climate on logistics and foreign trade ran through both halves of the day.
Why it mattered
Business sessions were paired with B2B meetings, a networking lunch and access to the Zero Day cocktail before the main forum. The summit gave oils and oilseeds their own hearing and reinforced Dubai’s place in BRICS and MENA trade flows.
