“Last Friday, January 30, the seventh GRAIN STORAGE FORUM 2026 took place in Kiev at the “Parkovy” shopping center, which this time gathered about 1,100 participants and guests. Despite the constant threat of enemy attacks on the capital, the difficult situation in the energy sector and regular power outages, despite the January frost and icy roads, representatives from”, — write on: ua.news
Last Friday, January 30, the seventh GRAIN STORAGE FORUM 2026 took place in Kiev at the “Parkovy” shopping center, which this time gathered about 1,100 participants and guests. Despite the constant threat of enemy attacks on the capital, the difficult situation in the energy sector and regular power outages, despite the January frost and icy roads, representatives from all regions of Ukraine gathered at the event, and partners also brought their exhibits, which were presented at the forum exhibition.
This year, in addition to ProAgro Group and the Association of Elevators of Ukraine, the organizers of the GRAIN STORAGE FORUM were Aggeek and Agro Marketing.
The forum was held simultaneously on two sites. The first held a conference that combined the topics of storage, grain and oil processing, agro-energy and energy efficiency, logistics and trading.
The second venue is the “Crop-2026” conference, which was held by the Aggeek company under the slogan “Science and Magic”. It was dedicated to the technologies of growing the same grain and oil crops. Both venues, both conferences worked throughout the day, giving 60 speakers the opportunity to speak and holding discussion panels and question-and-answer sessions with the participation of all forum participants.
The event covered many issues: from the yield economy in new conditions and the search for investments in deep processing to the state of the elevator industry and the simplification of export and customs barriers.
Thus, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Taras Vysotskyi noted in the first discussion panel of the forum: “The capacities for grain storage in the country are now quite sufficient and there is no shortage. In this situation, the best thing the state can do is to ensure business predictability, and I can say that we are not planning any innovations in this regard.”
“Today, the elevator business has returned to the 2010s – a separate elevator is no longer considered economically. For profitability, it needs to be incorporated into its own grain production or into its own grain processing,” added Serhiy Shcherban, head of the Kernel Agricultural Holding’s Storage Department, developing a discussion about the state of the elevator industry in Ukraine.
Important issues for all agronomists were discussed at the “Crop-2026” conference. In particular, the chief agronomist of Life Biochem, Oleg Zagorodnyi, delivered a report on how EU regulations are already changing approaches to growing crops and the economics of agricultural production. The focus is on the impact of new requirements on cost and margin, alternative solutions instead of banned active substances and a practical analysis of key crops: corn, sunflower, rapeseed, soybeans and wheat. Speakers of the forum also paid special attention to the issue of diversification of production and investment in processing.
“Business development is impossible without investment. The processing business that we are trying to build requires large investments. And the larger the investment, the greater should be the confidence of the investor that his efforts and funds will pay off and bring profit. And here the state has something to work on”, – Yuriy Skichko, CEO of Hermes-Trading LLC.
In addition, the issue of the expansion of sales markets was discussed, which, despite European integration, does not lose its relevance and worries many market players.
“Ukraine needs new sales markets. Currently, about 35% of Ukrainian agricultural products are exported to the EU, about 20% – to the countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, 15% – to African countries, and there is the greatest potential for increasing supplies. But in order to deliver to African countries, the exporter must be sure that he will receive money for his goods. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the guarantees provided by the State Export Credit Agency”, – Oleg Khomenko, general director of UKAB.
The personnel issue could not be ignored either, because the shortage of specialists today is experienced by enterprises of all branches – from cultivation to storage and processing of agricultural products. This is how Oleksandr Varavka, CEO of the ALVIVA GROUP group of companies, described the situation in particular:
“The companies of our group currently employ 5,500 workers. To develop, new working hands are needed. If earlier we said that the industry lacks qualified personnel, now we say that there is a general lack of personnel. There is especially a lack of men, and this problem cannot be solved only by increasing the automation of production.”
The introduction of modern technologies, in particular artificial intelligence, into agricultural production processes was also an important topic of discussion. Thus, Oleksandr Tykhii, director of the company “SAN AGRO” shared his experience of working with artificial agronomist ARNI. In particular, the listeners learned how AI helps to calculate the economics of agricultural solutions; shows risks before they become problems; works with real field data, not “market average temperature”.
Summing up the GRAIN STORAGE FORUM 2026, it can be noted that it was held under the slogan “less pathos – more business”. The forum was focused on discussing urgent challenges for agricultural production, grain storage, processing and export, finding solutions, sharing experience, getting acquainted with effective cases, advanced products and technologies.
To increase effectiveness, the organizers, as always, promoted new acquaintances, establishment of business and personal contacts between participants, and their communication, considering this one of the main tasks of the forum. This year, a chatbot was presented for the first time, in which the attendees could communicate both during the forum and after it ended.
The GRAIN STORAGE FORUM was held for the seventh time, and every year the organizers raise the bar for its holding – increasing the number of participants and partners, expanding the range of topics and issues for discussion.
At the same time, so that each forum is not similar to others, they try to make it something special. In addition to the already mentioned chatbot, a four-legged robot was shown, and for the first time an AI presenter was involved in the conference on crop production. And to enhance the impression, the tarologist shared predictions about the future harvest after looking at his cards.
Finally, we express our gratitude for the participation and assistance in holding the GRAIN STORAGE FORUM 2026 to the general partners – BEDNAR, AMAKO and GRECO Group, official partners – ENVU, HLR, SOJAM, Ecoorganic, iSolar, TechnoNK, PrivatBank, as well as more than 60 special partners of the event.
I thank our numerous media partners for the information support and support, and the Kyiv Academic Municipal Brass Band for creating not only a working but also a relaxed atmosphere in the breaks between discussions.
See you at the next forums and events from ProAgro Group in 2026!
Read us on Telegram and Sends
