Who Should Attend

SS Rice Events are aimed at building a global rice market network, linking www.ssricenews.com and related analysis and reports, to smaller origin and destination market based seminars with a apex annual feature event to deliver a continuous flow of information as well as the opportunity for physical meetings and peer networking. The meetings, information portal and anchor events are aimed to deliver meeting points that offer a wide array of online, and physical events that will build bonds and renew friendships, while also offering a forum to regularly meet new contacts and grow relationships within the global rice trade:

Rice Millers
Grain Market participants
Exporters & Importers
Traders
Brokers
Freight Market representatives / Shipping Industry Officials (Liner and Bulk)
Commodity Surveyors and Inspectors
Procurement and End-Users of raw materials
Government/Trade Representatives
Fertilizer Suppliers & production inputs for rice
Seed Suppliers
Rice Researchers and Scientists
Sorting/Milling/Machinery and the Postharvest Sector
Collateral Managers
Trade Finance / Commodity Trade Finance
Marine / Cargo Insurance
Legal Specialists and Arbitration specialists
Regional Rice Associations/Government Bodies and Institutes

The list goes on, and the bottom line is that our seminars and anchor events are part of a series of events delivering information and exchange opportunities that will engage the rice market and supply chain.

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Press Release

SS RICE NEWS CONVENTION 2024, 6-8 MAR 2024, ARIYANA CONVENTION CENTER, DANANG, VIETNAM

SS Rice News delivered an event providing insights to global rice markets: India’s restrictions turn focus on all alternative sources for global rice supplies which remain challenged by uncertainties ahead.

Danang— 6-8 Mar 2024 — The inaugural SS Rice News Convention 2024 event launched with strong attendance from across global rice trade and featuring several business heads and leaders across the global rice trade. The event saw over 500 delegates in attendance as key exporters, importers, traders, and service providers from over 30 countries represented Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Oceania. The event delivered an excellent base for networking between participants who represented leaders from global rice trade and supply chain.

SS Rice News Convention 2024 Opening showcases Vietnam’s growing presence in global markets and an industry embracing the environment and sustainability goals. The event was officiated by SS Rice News Co-Founders - V. Subramanian and Phan Mai Huong. It featured welcome and keynote address from Mr. Nguyen Anh Son, Director General of the Import-Export Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam, along with Amit Gulrajani, President – Rice, at Olam Agri, Singapore to kick-off the event. They were subsequently joined on stage by representatives from The Thai Department of Foreign Trade – Ministry of Commerce, Perum Bulog, Padiberas Nasional (Bernas) to declare the event open. Vietnam’s progress in rice exports emphasized efforts to deliver more value from rice exports. Keynote speaker Mr. Son said “The opportunities are immense for both the industry and businesses in Vietnam, but with opportunities come challenges,” to set the tone for the 3-days of activities presented at an event that focused on the theme of India’s export restrictions lending to change across the global rice trade. Amit Gulrajani, President – Rice at Olam Agri took a fresh direction to show that conglomerates in the rice trade were looking beyond the buy-sell and profit model in rice trading, to show more of a conscience, as environmental concerns, sustainability, and a more responsible role for the global rice industry was interwoven into Olam Agri’s efforts across the rice sector

SS Rice News Convention 2024 was attended by over 500 delegates (including press and guests), these participants represented some 35 countries, and most of all, delegates represented business heads and leaders from across the supply chain supporting the global rice trade. One unique feature was a strong presence of delegates during all sessions and presentations. The organizers also saw a better balance in the attendance among buyers, sellers, intermediaries, and service providers from across the rice trade.

The event also saw several high-level panels of experts delivered insights to how markets were both affected by India’s restrictions and how sellers and buyers adapted to these changing market conditions.

Representatives on the panel included exporters from India, Thailand, Pakistan, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The discussions showcased Pakistan, Myanmar and Cambodia offering positive export potentials in markets, while Thailand and Vietnam looked more reserved in their expectations. The talks also highlighted the critical role of weather conditions, with worries over El Nino and climate change as factors that would impact the stability of production:

Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Chairman, Vietnam Food Association, Vietnam

Do Ha Nam, Vice President, Vietnam Food Association, Vietnam

Mohit Agarwal, Country Manager at Olam Agri Vietnam

Rajiv Kumar, Executive Director, The Rice Exporters Association, India

Fuad Hamid Garib, Director, Garibsons (Pvt) Ltd., Pakistan

Aung Zaw Oo, Vice Chairman, Myanmar Rice Federation, Myanmar

Sokheang Chan, President, Cambodia Rice Federation, Cambodia

Wanniwat Kittireanglarp, Deputy Secretary General, Thai Rice Exporters Association, Thailand

The event also introduced “Rice and the Environment” as a subject to link the growing interest in global rice markets to address climate change while offering fresh opportunities to businesses that can engage and grow their involvement in efforts to grow the environmental footprint across rice markets. Presented by a panel of experts who were also capable of assisting companies with a role in this growing sector, the following speakers engaged the audience with thoughts on rice and the environment and how the industry can move efforts to realize more gains in this effort which includes the now popular 1-million hectare Mekong delta project at the heart of Asian rice:

Beverly Postma, Executive Director, Grow Asia, Singapore

Tobias Breunig, Advisor for Agricultural Finance, GIZ, Thailand

Finally, the event concluded with a look at shipping concerns (from the Red and Black Sea related impact and disruptions to decarbonization efforts which have left its own trail of impact and change across shipping and the future of shipping costs, along with a look at contracts and risk from not having tight contracts). The talks also included an update on the European rice market: strict food safety and residue regulations, a peek into how buyers of rice, consumers and traders in Africa and the Middle East responded to a clear restricted availability from India and rising costs of replacing stocks. This was all followed by a conclusion presentation by V. Subramanian that looked at global markets, shifts since the Indian restriction and some demand destruction elements seen in feed industries as influences for the road ahead.

Richard Watts, Founder and Managing Director, HR Maritime, Switzerland

Jean-Pierre Brun, Managing Director, Marius Brun et Fils, France

Satish Thampy, Regional Sales Head for Middle East, North Africa, East Africa and Europe, Olam Agri, U.A.E.

Subramanian, Co-Founder, SS Rice News

The event’s speakers delivered insights that pointed to more challenges: India’s restrictions look set to maintain a tightened state of supply in global markets; though demand elements have alternatives from cheaper grains to consider, hence the question of demand elasticity or inelasticity remained key to the size of demand under a tightened supply situation in rice. Most speakers agreed that demand in Asia was more inelastic since rice remains a staple, meanwhile demand from feed market users and other regions could see some shifts away from rice as a response to higher prices seen for most of 2023 and in 2024.

Event Photos/VIDEO Gallery (click for link to Photos from the event)

Interact, Inform, and Inspire were smaller themes showing on the event banners, adding to Rice Market Outlook – Indian Ripples, Global Waves and these themes merged effortlessly when we consider the sizeable presence of industry heads from across the rice trade and supply chain, and how the event provided the foundations for networking, information exchange and intelligence gathering.

“SS Rice News Convention 2024 was a reflection of core SS Rice News ambitions in bringing information, exchange and interaction as foundations for our work which aim to create not only a meeting place, but a longer term interaction between actors across the rice trade with our own www.ssricenews.com providing an undercurrent for good analysis and news updates for a reliable source for information” said, Ms. Huong Phan, Co-Founder of SS Rice News as she also exclaimed that the response in attendance, content and feedback revealed to her in terms of how SS Rice News is quickly positioning itself as a leading service for the global rice trade.

WHAT NEXT?? The team at SS Rice News can only reveal invitations for discussions in Indonesia and Thailand as paving the way for the next meeting and how SS Rice News Convention will evolve in the years ahead.

WWW.SSRICENEWS.COM AND WWW.SSRICEEVENTS.COM focus on delivering a global rice network that combines news, analysis, and physical events that emphasis engagement and exchange among members of the global rice supply chain. Founded in late Jun of 2023, SSResource Media Pte Ltd, www.ssricenews.com and www.ssriceevents.com offer a complete suite of products to aid markets participants across the global rice supply chain. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to deliver news, insights, analysis, and physical engagements though a “hub and spoke” theme for events that bring focus on regional exchange around the global convention which will bring global actors across the rice supply chain together.