Grain Ukraine 2026: From Grain Exports to a Value-Added Economy

How is the global agricultural landscape changing?

The 11th international Grain Ukraine conference, taking place on June 4–5 in Kyiv, is shaping a new framework for industry discussion. This year’s theme, The New Grain Order, shifts the focus from short-term forecasts toward a systemic rethinking of the global agricultural market and the development of long-term strategies with a 20–25 year horizon.

The conference will address key questions including:

➢ What will determine Ukraine’s competitiveness by 2050: scale, efficiency, processing capacity, or positioning within global supply chains?

➢ Is bioenergy a strategic priority, a condition for energy independence, or an overestimated expectation?

➢ Is Ukraine building the logistics infrastructure of the future, or still relying on the infrastructure of the past?

➢ How can the country balance dependence on the EU market with the need to diversify globally?

➢ Who will shape the future of Ukraine’s agricultural sector — the state, business, or geopolitics?

“Ukraine’s agricultural sector has entered a phase of structural adaptation after four years of full-scale war. Businesses have learned to operate under conditions of high uncertainty, restructured logistics chains, improved operational efficiency, and are gradually moving toward the development of processing capacities. The next step is to form a long-term strategic vision. That is exactly what we will discuss at this year’s event,” says Iryna Bondarenko, Head of the Organizing Committee of Grain Ukraine 2026.

The conference program includes panel discussions focused on the future of agriculture, geopolitics, investment, energy, and market transformation:

➢ “Ukrainian business and the global context: the agricultural sector in a 25-year perspective”;

➢ “Into the EU without illusions: how to navigate a complex path and remain competitive”;

➢ “Ukrainian agriculture under pressure: the end of the low-cost model and the new grain order”;

➢ “Logistics under geopolitical pressure: how to overcome supply chain vulnerability”;

➢ “Will agriculture become a key player in Ukraine’s bioenergy market?”;

➢ “Capital, risk, growth: financing through uncertainty”;

➢ “When grain is no longer enough: where will the sector find new competitiveness?”;

➢ “Investment attractiveness of agricultural companies during wartime: where are growth opportunities concentrated today?”.

Among the speakers of Grain Ukraine 2026 are business leaders, international experts, and government officials shaping the future of the sector:

• Oleksii Soboliev, Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine;
• Yevgen Osipov, Chief Executive Officer of Kernel;
• Georg von Nolcken, Chief Executive Officer of Continental Farmers Group;
• Svitlana Krakovska, Head of the Laboratory of Applied Climatology at UHMI SES of Ukraine and NAS of Ukraine;
• Petr Krogman, Owner of Agromino, president of Czech-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce;
• Cesar Soares, Founder of CAS Consultancy;
• Jonathan Grange, Partner at Sunstone Brokers;
• Bartosz Peczkowski, Owner and Chairman of the Board at Frontier Logistics;
• Andrii Moisieienko, Member of the Management Board, JSC “Ukreximbank”;
• Tahir Musayev, deputy CEO of Baryshivska Grain Company;
• Yevhen Dudka, Founder of VILIA Group;
• Volodymyr Metkyi, Founder and CEO of Tradex Agri Group;
• Serhii Nechyporuk, Chief Executive Officer of AGROTRADE Group;
• Adomas Audickas, Deputy CEO for Bioenergy, MHP;
• Yurii Krasovskyi, Business Development Director at N’UNIT;
• Bohdan Kostetskyi, Operational Partner of Barva Invest trading and analytical company;
• Taras Vysotskyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine;
• Anna Lebedynets, Associate Director, Senior Banker, Food and Agribusiness Department at EBRD;
• Pavlo Prytyko, Director of the Mid-Corporate Clients Department, PUMB;
• Taras Mykolaienko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Bioethanol Producers Association “Ukrbioethanol”, and many others.

Participation has already been confirmed by top executives from the grain market, logistics sector, food industry, and financial institutions. Organizers expect more than 600 industry participants.

Networking remains an important part of Grain Ukraine. The evening program will traditionally bring participants together in an informal setting — this year featuring a performance by the band Mertvyi Piven.

Registration for Grain Ukraine 2026 is available via the link: https://lnk.ua/9fFOz3zam 

The event is organized by IdeasFirst. General Partner — Ukreximbank. Conference Partners — SD Capital and TIS. Content Partner — Trend & Hedge Club.

Grain Ukraine is an international industry platform that has brought together key players in the agricultural market, financial sector, and technology companies since 2016 to discuss trends, development strategies, and innovation implementation.