AGIC is Australia’s premier grains conference, attracting more than 450 delegates over the three days, including end users, marketers, bulk handlers, service providers, growers, government and R&D leaders.

The conference will feature a number of international and domestic speakers, including the Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke, who will deliver the opening address.

This year’s event is focusing on the ‘Changing face of the Australian grains industry’, with speakers addressing areas including opportunities for Australian grains, customer requirements, risk management and the emerging issue of managing quality in a deregulated market.

Dr Richard Gilmore, president of the GIC Group in the United States, a specialist consulting and investment advisory service for the international agribusiness sector, will give delegates a global overview of supply, demand and the investment outlook for the agriculture sector in the wake of the current economic crisis.

“The global crisis has shaken things up in soft commodity markets,” Dr Gilmore said.

“The world is still topsy turvy. The US dollar leads, but now also follows export trends. Stockpiling and trade restrictions cloud the picture for demand forecasts and economic nationalism casts a long shadow on the markets.”

Dr Gilmore believes the future of the agricultural industry is going to increasingly reflect concerns about the impact of farming activities on the environment, and that this will increasingly affect agricultural investment strategies.

“A new variable in the mix is carbon credits,” Dr Gilmore said.

“Agriculture conservatively accounts for 15-20pc of any country’s green house gas emissions for primary and value added industries under Kyoto or the European allocation system.

“It offers great potential for carbon reduction, and soon carbon credits will become part and parcel of agricultural investment and hedging strategies.”