Organized for 25 years in Sète, the Grain Exchange does not lack salt

Nearly 400 professionals from the grain industry met at the end of the Saint-Louis mole for the traditional Grain Exchange. Midi Libre – Pätrice Espinasse

Some 400 professionals from the cereal sector met this Friday, May 17, at Môle Saint-Louis to do business. A grain exchange that has lasted for 25 years in Sète… without grain of sand.

This is an event that certainly goes under the radar of most Sétois. Pretty cars registered from the four corners of France and even Spain and Italy, a large tent set up a few meters from the Saint-Louis lighthouse, at the very end of the mole, discussions in small or larger committees throughout the day: nothing suggests the importance of the meeting.

However, tens of millions of tons of cereals of all kinds are traded here in a few hours. Without seeing any wheat or corn. And this has been going on for 25 years, in Sète, because the founding members were from here!

This Friday, May 17, the traditional Grain Exchange once again brought together nearly 400 traders, processors, brokers, storers, logisticians and service providers from the cereals, oilseeds and protein crops sector.

"The volumes that are processed are a little secret"

Here, we find out about market prices. We take stock of the past campaign. We estimate the harvests. We build relationships, even partnerships. "As in Nancy, La Rochelle, Bayonne, Paris, it’is a place for meetings and exchanges", explains Rémi Pujol, the brand new president (Gardois) of Cobesud, the association which ensures that the annual meeting is run smoothly. What quantities of cereals are exchanged inside the tent and outside ? "The volumes that are traded are a bit secret", smiles Rémi Pujol.

But, in the past, this closed market, reserved for professionals in the sector, generated transactions which could reach up to 80 million tonnes of cereals. nbsp;! Under the bright Sète sun, discussions and negotiations went well. This year again, there was food to grind.