The first trade forum was organized by Agricultural Extension Center Bridges in cooperation with the Agriculture and Rural Development Support (ARDS) program sponsored by USAID.

During the forum an open dialog among Ukrainian farmers, agricultural producers and representatives of wholesale purchasers of agricultural products was established.

Representatives of more than 90 SMEs from all over Ukraine attended the event. Wholesale purchasers included representatives of supermarkets chains, such as Billa, Metro Cash&Carry, Varus, wholesale farmers market "Fermer" and others.

Ukraine's chamber of commerce, IFC, credit unions and other important stakeholders of Ukrainian agricultural sector also attended the event.

The forum served as a platform for direct negotiations between Ukrainian's agricultural SMEs and wholesale purchasers and consumers of their products.