2 June 2025 · Istanbul, Turkey
Photo report and recap of BBS Grain 2025 — the meeting that set the stage for BBS Grain 2026 in Istanbul.
On June 2, 2025, the Balkans & Black Sea Grain 2025 international grain conference was held in Istanbul. It is a key event of the year for agricultural and logistics businesses in the Balkan region, the Black Sea, Turkey, Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
The conference provided a platform for discussing grain exports, logistics, oilseeds, and transport corridors in the face of geopolitical instability and competition in the global grain market. Participants discussed grain exports from Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and other countries amid restrictions, currency-market instability, changes in transport chains, and cargo insurance. Particular attention was paid to international container logistics, the North-South transport corridor, risks in the Black Sea, and demand from importers in the Middle East and Africa.
The 2025 program focused on business networking: one-on-one meetings, market conversations, and informal contacts between buyers and sellers. Alongside the working sessions, the Grain Gala Dinner at The Oven Restaurant continued negotiations outside the main agenda.
Delegates used Istanbul as a neutral meeting point between Black Sea origins and MENA buyers. Talks in the corridors covered wheat quality spreads, sunflower crush margins, and how quickly a freight spike can wipe a paper profit. That mix of hall sessions and private meetings is what BBS Grain 2026 keeps as the core format.
The photo report below is the visual record of 2 June 2025. For the market takeaways — Romania and Bulgaria export windows, African miller demand, Türkiye’s milling and import mechanic — read Key Insights from BBS Grain Istanbul 2025.
If you were not in the room, the pictures still show the density of the day: full tables, speaker Q&A, and the gala dinner where many follow-up calls were booked. The same circle of traders, millers, shipbrokers and insurers is invited back on 22 September 2026 at Sofitel Istanbul Taksim — details and tickets are on the official homepage.
Use this page as a gallery and a short recap. Use the insights article as a briefing. Use the BBS Grain 2026 homepage to lock a seat before the early rate closes.
Session I. Grain export and production potential in the Black Sea and Balkan countries — Sunchitsa Savovich, Serbia Grains Association; Stoyan Valev, Grainstore (Bulgaria); Vivian Iroanya, S&P Global Platts.
Session II. Competition in the global market — Sabina Sodikova, Agrozan Commodities; Amr Siam, Bashayer Foundation; Mehdi Zerzeri, Les Grands Moulins de Tunis and others.
Session III. Oilseeds and processed products — Pelin Ozer, MPM Gida; Preslav Raykov, Eleen Marine; Nikolay Belchev, Expur SA; Namik Kemal Parlak, Miller Magazine.
Session IV. Logistics challenges — Pelin Gezicioglu, SFR Shipping; Veysel Kaya, Sunseedman; Ivan Podluzhnyi, Rusagro; Engin Kocak, Turkish Shipbrokers Association; Yavor Velchev, Shippossible Insurance.
BBS Grain 2025 was attended by over 200 delegates representing agribusiness, logistics, trading, shipping and insurance from over 20 countries. Among them:
Agricultural holdings, traders and exporters: Agrozan Commodities (UAE), Atameken Agro Trade (Kazakhstan), Bashayer Feed Establishment (Egypt), Rusagro Group (Russia), Bio-Ton Agri Corp, Granolux, Tiryaki Agro, Soytex, Sunar, Prime Trading SA and others.
Shipping and brokerage: SFR Shipping & Trading, Sunseedman, Anson Logistics, Glogos Project, Anchor Shipping Agency and others.
Surveyors: Control Union Türkiye, General Survey Inspection, Saybolt, Alpha Inspection, TopFrame.
Banks, insurance and law: Russian Agricultural Bank, Esenyel Partners, Filhet Allard Maritime, Shippossible Insurance, Diot Siaci.
Government and associations: Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, Russian Export Center in Türkiye, Serbia Grains Association, Turkish Shipbrokers Association.
Key moments of BBS Grain Conference 2025: speakers, networking and the business energy of the forum. Photos from the conference floor.
The next edition — Balkans & Black Sea Grain 2026 — is on 22 September 2026 in Istanbul.
Get your BBS Grain 2026 ticket