The grains market is very dynamic, according to Quor Eka’s Francisco Navarro, who sees some global trends impacting the market. While the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war can still have considerable impact on the grains market and there are still some ongoing uncertainties, demand from China and countries like Afghanistan, Egypt, and even Europe is strong. The production forecast was quite low, he told me, and lower than expected but the prediction is for 4-5% more production that last year. “Globally, we are seeing demand and production growth,” he said. Francisco took me through some of the many trends taking place in grains. This includes Better technology to aid farmers in monitoring fields and crops like drones, GPS, sensors and satellites, which can help detect crop issues in advance. These are improving efficiency and reducing costs on the farm, he said. Another area is genetically improved seeds and the possibility to develop multi cereal seeds resistant to pests and that will grow in harsher conditions to improve farm productivity as well. Another area is vertical farming – something I have not heard of. This is a technology where multiple floors of produce mat be grown in a field or a building depending… continue reading