The global agricultural value chain has crossed an irrevocable threshold, transitioning away from traditional cyclical corrections into an environment of permanent, structural volatility.
Global food commodity prices remained broadly stable in May, but cereal markets moved in the opposite direction as wheat, maize and rice quotations all increased, according to the latest data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
At HUBUDER’s Ankara conference, Türkiye’s grain, flour, pasta and bulgur sectors discussed the 2026 harvest outlook, with speakers pointing to stronger production prospects, high durum wheat stocks and a more comfortable supply picture.
The old order is fracturing. The Global South has a window. It may not stay open for long.
The next 25 years will not simply be a continuation of the last 25. The grains and oilseeds industry has been transformed by scale, consolidation, logistics and technology. The road to 2050, however, will be shaped by slower demand growth, shifting geography, continued yield gains, changing diets, energy uncertainty, digital disruption and a gradual rebalancing of power from the supply side to the demand side.
For the better part of twenty years, the rules of global grain trade were fairly simple: production shocks happened, prices reacted, and grain moved from where it was grown to where it was needed with a certain predictable rhythm.
For Silvan Trunz, sustainability in flour milling is not a separate agenda, but a smarter way of running the mill with less energy, less waste, and greater transparency. In this interview, the Head of Sustainability at Bühler Milling Solutions explains why the biggest gains will come from better yield control, digital monitoring, and more intelligent process management across the entire milling system.
Sudhakar Tomar, President of the India Middle East Agri Alliance (IMEAA) Ecosystem, says the Middle East conflict and pressure on the Strait of Hormuz have exposed deeper vulnerabilities in global food and fertilizer supply chains, raising risks for grain, pulses and feed markets from the Gulf to South Asia and Africa.
In this exclusive interview with Miller Magazine, Peter Lloyd, Regional Technical Director at U.S. Wheat Associates, reflects on nearly five decades in flour milling, sharing the lessons, values, and practical insights he has gathered across generations of industry change.
While the immediate impact on wheat prices remains relatively limited, the Hormuz crisis is pushing up freight, fuel, insurance and fertilizer costs, adding a new layer of pressure to global trade. Benoît Fayaud of Expana warns that the bigger risk lies not in current wheat flows, but in shrinking farm margins, quality risks and weaker planting incentives that could weigh more heavily on the 2026/27 and especially 2027/28 wheat outlook.
Gafta’s new President Brian Arnold tells Miller Magazine the association will prioritise sustainability and the shift to digital trade documentation, highlighting progress on e-phyto certificates while urging wider legal recognition of electronic bills of lading and stricter contract discipline to reduce delays and disputes.
In today’s market, price is no longer driven by supply and demand alone, but also by money flows, geopolitics, energy disruption and weather risk. While the Iran war has fueled stagflation fears and speculative buying across agricultural futures, global wheat, corn and soybean fundamentals remain broadly adequate.
World wheat flour trade is set to decline for a second straight year in 2025/26, dropping to 16.0 million tonnes ((wheat equivalent), a four-year low, as structurally weaker demand in Iraq and Sudan reflects a broader shift toward domestic milling and wheat grain imports.
Transitioning to whole wheat flour is not simply about raising extraction rates; it requires a fundamental redesign of process discipline and functional performance.
When macroeconomic balances deteriorate, the effects spread across the wheat value chain: input costs rise, financing burdens deepen, public regulation becomes more expensive, and milling margins come under pressure.
After a drought-hit 2025 crop, Türkiye is entering the 2026/27 season with wheat production expected to rebound to around 22.75–23.25 million tonnes and barley output also recovering strongly, supported by above-average rainfall and expanded winter crop area.
China is trying to secure staple grain supplies at home while meeting the rising needs of a feed-intensive animal protein economy.
As India enters the marketing year (MY) 2026/27 (April 2026 to March 2027), the wheat sector stands at a pivotal juncture, balancing robust production prospects with evolving trade policies and market dynamics.
Speaking to Miller Magazine, Ahmed El-Sebaie describes a crowded Egyptian flour market where intense competition is squeezing prices.
Based in Gaziantep and run by the third generation of the Tan family, Tanis Milling Technologies has grown into a global player, supplying turnkey flour, semolina, corn, pulses and feed plants to investors in more than 70 countries.
In an exclusive interview with Miller Magazine, Dario Grossmann, Head of Bühler’s Milling Academy in Uzwil, said milling training is moving beyond hands-on mechanics to encompass process understanding, data interpretation, traceability and automation.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in Zaragoza, Spanish silo specialist SIMEZA has evolved from a local steel pioneer into a global storage partner for millers and grain handlers on five continents.
“The modernization of milling technologies represents a strategic lever for a more efficient and sustainable industry,” Luigi Nalon, CEO of Omas Industries, told Miller Magazine.
Speaking at the HUBUDER Conference in Ankara, organized by the Turkish Grain Suppliers Association, AgResource President Dan Basse said global grain markets are entering a transitional phase in which adequate near-term supplies are masking deeper risks for 2027 and beyond.
The Ukrainian barley market this season leaves very little space for debate — it points to one clear conclusion: this is the weakest season in almost twenty years.
Speaking at EuroGrainExchange in Bucharest, Peter Clubb, Market Analyst at the International Grains Council (IGC), said global grain markets are entering the new season with comfortable supplies and relatively low prices following record crops in 2025/26.
In 2022, the grain market watched grain vessels stranded in the Black Sea Ukrainian ports. In early 2026, attention shifted to oil tankers, fertilizer flows, and insurance costs around the Strait of Hormuz. The source of disruption has changed. The lessons, however, are largely the same.
At IDMA Istanbul, the industry witnessed the debut of two initiatives by Parantez Media:
Simultaneously organized with IDMA Istanbul, the fifth edition of TABADER’s now customary Doyens Award Ceremony took place on May 2nd at Wow Hotel.
The global grain processing industry convened in Istanbul. The domestic sector, specializing in flour, grain, feed, pulses production equipment, and milling machinery, crucially exporting 90 percent of its output, gathered with over 10,000 professionals from 120 countries at the 10th IDMA Istanbul.
In an exclusive interview during the IDMA Expo in Istanbul, Moulay Abdelkadir Alalaoui, President of the Moroccan Flour Milling Federation (FNM), provides a comprehensive overview of the state of flour milling in Morocco and its relationship with Turkey.
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23 September 2021 6 min reading
COVER STORY