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      "author": "steemitboard",
      "body": "Congratulations @damienw! You received a personal award!\n\n<table><tr><td>https://steemitimages.com/70x70/http://steemitboard.com/@damienw/birthday2.png</td><td>Happy Birthday! - You are on the Steem blockchain for 2 years!</td></tr></table>\n\n<sub>_You can view [your badges on your Steem Board](https://steemitboard.com/@damienw) and compare to others on the [Steem Ranking](https://steemitboard.com/ranking/index.php?name=damienw)_</sub>\n\n\n**Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:**\n<table><tr><td><a href=\"https://steemit.com/steemfest/@steemitboard/steemfest-meet-the-stemians-contest-the-mysterious-rule-revealed\"><img src=\"https://steemitimages.com/64x128/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmasWw4jQHwxng82DKxY6Q6tVg9mWcto4xcDURs8knFgCa/image.png\"></a></td><td><a href=\"https://steemit.com/steemfest/@steemitboard/steemfest-meet-the-stemians-contest-the-mysterious-rule-revealed\">SteemFest Meet The Stemians Contest - The mysterious rule revealed</a></td></tr></table>\n\n###### [Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness](https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/account-witness-vote?witness=steemitboard&approve=1) to get one more award and increased upvotes!",
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      "author": "damienw",
      "body": "![Risky buisness.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTeGBn57EJYRYDPoRcgSwCfmh4vS7FVGdEnXLYF4b3rLX/Risky%20buisness.jpg)\n\nWhen you start dealing with physical commodities there are a lot of risks you need to be aware of! The difficulty comes from the fact that most of them are insidiously hidden and difficult to fully grasp.\n\nBelow, I categorized 7 type of risk. Please have in mind that each one of them are not in silo, the boundaries are quite blurry between each of them. The aim of this blog post is not to make you a specialist in commodity risk management  but just to give you an idea of the risks involved with the activity.\n\n![OPERATIONAL RISK.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmS6gJiZQARkPsHzRA2CJxQaFLGjWfx73MnydsNQD6o1Uz/OPERATIONAL%20RISK.jpg)\n\nOperational : This categorie includes every kind of risk within the delivery of a physical product. Shipment delay, paperwork issue, crops failure, quality problems, etc… This is the one that operators fight to minimize. Clear processes and proactive attitude from the operator in charge of the delivery are the 2 keys to handle this risk.\n\n![Country Risks.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeG3RqKYEfqamyyQKQHMPR8a4bFnTA6c2E7AyciU5qTH7/Country%20Risks.jpg)\n\nCountry : The export/import business is ruled by the regulation from the country of import AND export, it’s twice the amount of pain. What do you think happened when Russia banned the import of food from EU on the 7th of August 2014? Containers, trucks, vessels, about to arrive/load to Russia had to be rerouted!  Imagine the hassles & losses (I lived it) !\n\n![BASIS RISK.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPHgnAWLP7d3KCWTedznfhGb18bFXd9Nr4p71qNJfwzXF/BASIS%20RISK.jpg)\n\nBasis : The basis is the difference between the cash price and the future price of a commodity.\n\nCASH PRICE – FUTURE PRICE = BASIS\n\nLot of traders hedge 100% of their trades and only speculate on the basis movement. An unexpected movement of the basis can be devastating for the margin.  \n\n![ILLIQUIDITY RISK.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc3sqjTxx5r53Zew7SW8NsrxQZfuvmupnN5Pm9PisFAj9/ILLIQUIDITY%20RISK.jpg)\n\nIlliquidity : Liquidity is the ability to convert capital into cash. In our case, capital could be contracts on the future market or stock of physical products. In other words, an illiquidity risk is basically the inability to sell. A liquidity/illiquidity event could literally bring down trading companies.\n\n![PERFORMANCE RISK.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYaqDUHroYjZth6xE7ncJL2Qa9n9JMfZP2Sd6B6gNs6x8/PERFORMANCE%20RISK.jpg)\n\nPerformance : When you purchase or sale a commodity on the physical market, you automatically inherit from a performance risk. The risk that your counterparty doesn’t fulfill his side of the contract. Imagine, your buyer goes bankrupt & the market price is 25% less than what you concluded with your buyer at the time….\n\n![FLAT PRICE RISK.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaVje12TSYVXq7Zk3SJZS19Qpj1dcTvPrerqCUXKn77tq/FLAT%20PRICE%20RISK.jpg)\n\nFlat price: For most of the minor commodities or special qualities, there is no way to hedge the price on a future exchange. Therefore, you are at the mercy of any movements in the price.\n\nIf you want more ! Don’t hesitate to subscribe to the newsletter  =>  http://shippingandcommodityacademy.com/  🙂 \n\n\nDamien W.",
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      "permlink": "risk-in-commodity-trading",
      "title": "Risk in commodity trading"
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      "author": "damienw",
      "body": "![4 PARTS STRUCTURING A TRADING COMPANY.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmd9ahrvhuDPG1c6s6KKVnGGR4gzZgHHd8A9izgbwKaEpc/4%20PARTS%20STRUCTURING%20A%20TRADING%20COMPANY.png)\n\nThe other day I received an email and the person asked to know EVERYTHING related to physical commodity trading. I replied something like “Sure, I’ll be happy to answer your SPECIFIC questions” since the field of commodity trading is soooo vast. It’s hard to give any substantial answer to that kind of question.\n\nBut it made me think! How can we break down the activity? How would I explain the internal mechanism of a trading house to someone with 0 knowledge? Not an easy task!\n\nIn this short post, I did my best to introduce the four main parts structuring a trading company. Please bear in mind it’s not as easy to cut a clear line between each activity as they are all deeply interconnected.\n\n![4 image.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPMTx16fbDZr8hkGXWB9r46JpzNkB9xzEFs1MvCkifMUA/4%20image.jpg)\n\n\nPHYSICAL COMMODITY TRADING\n\nHere we buy and sell the physical commodities. The buy side is often called origination and the sales side merchant. Only in the biggest companies the originators and the merchants are not the same people, usually the same trader buys and sells, this is even much truer in commodities with no future contract to hedge.\n\nThey are the contact point with the producer/client and the trading company. They spend their time visiting the different counterparties, setting up deals, calling to get quotes and intel about the move of the different market players.\n\nPAPER COMMODITY TRADING\n\nThis is the part that drives people crazy! When we speak about traders, everyone always imagines a dude behind 10 screens and hundred of charts. A trader in charge of paper trading in a commodity house will mostly hedge purchases from the origination or price the sales for the merchant. Most of the trading house has a specific team or person in charge of the futures.\n\nThey will not travel as per the guys on the physical side, their job is more in-office. They converse with the brokers, oversee the Supply and Demand models, update the pricing matrix for the physical side and a lot of other advanced math stuff.\n\nLOGISTIC\n\nHere is the core part, knowing how to move commodities from one place to another cost-efficiently is an art. Navigating through the different customs with the right paperwork is not as easy as it sounds! The logistic department is also called contract execution, which could be quite confusing at first, but very true when you understand the whole mechanic. The person in charge of the contract execution ( or operator) becomes the centre of the information. They nominate inspector, book trucks, containers, in charge of quality, liaise with the suppliers and the clients, etc…\n\nBeing an operator is a tough job. You need to be as details oriented as proactive since mistakes are costly! From my point of view, I would never hire a trader in charge of the physical commodities without an execution experience. It’s too important!\n\nTRADE FINANCE\n\nTrade finance is a big part where I categorize everything that has a relation with the banking system. They are the interface between the banks and the trading company. Usually here in Geneva, they are the only one wearing a suit in the office :-). A good trade officer will immediately know which banks would be the more suitable to fund which type of cargos in function of the origin and destination of the trade.\n\nPart of their job is negotiating credit line, cash flow prevision, negotiate the L/C pricing, having dispendious lunch with bankers.\n\n——————————————————————————————————————————————————\n\nHope this sheds some light !\n\n\nDamien W.",
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      "body": "![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUncer888fZmKpoJDS13FftPRSs3fSnHxoPTF1ewrW8KB/image.png)\n\nI’m a physical commodity trader. I buy, sell, hedge, stock, blend, ship, commodities around the world.  I work on a daily basis with companies based in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Through my job, I have direct exposure to numerous pain points that cryptocurrencies and blockchain protocols will/could solve. I will review in this blog post trough my commodity trader lens the 3 following points:\n\n* International payment\n* Market volatility\n* Less economically developed countries\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXYsLRJ5CtsG7hsVzQKGh11FK6W2FRGXK2GCuz7bn2B8z/image.png)\n\nThe international banking system is broken. The cryptocurrencies are going to reshape it!\nIf I want to send 30’000 USD from Germany to an African counter party. It would take 3 to 4 days to have the amount credited on the African bank account AND it will cost around 400USD! It’s a steal! The SWIFT protocol on which the international banking system is built is slow, expensive and prompt to mistake!\n\nIn the case of shipment (by container or break bulk), where the amount varies between couple thousand USD to millions, the most common payment method used is called “Letter of Credit” (L/C). L/C are currently the safest way to do business with a less known entities from another country. Basically, what happened is your bank taking the risk of non-payment off the seller’s hand, if the seller fulfills the obligation state in the L/C. For instance, the obligations could be, time of shipment of the good, certificate to issue, inspection done by specific third parties, etc…\n\nIt’s not only highly expensive (as you can imagine the banks take theirs fees), it’s also time-consuming, resource-consuming AND there is 100000 ways to get “*ç%* and lifting the obligation from your bank to pay you…\n\nHere is a short and simplify of how L/C works.\n\n* Seller (S) wants to sell 15’000mt of rice to a Buyer(B).\n* As you don’t know well the buyer you ask him to open a L/C for the value of the shipment.\n* B goes to his bank, ask to open an L/C (OB for Opening Bank)\n* S nominate his bank to receive the L/C (SB for Seller Bank)\n* Once the sugar is shipped on the vessel, S sends the sets of documents stated in the L/C to the SB.\n* SB reviews the documents, accepts them as compliant with the L/C\n* SB send the documents to OB\n* OB reviews the documents, accepts them as compliant with the L/C\n* OB sends the documents to B.\n\nHere is a diagram another way to explained the L/C principles  :\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaAkVJEiQFE9vdFNnc311VBXWjHgaKBFi7jN1BBUedZE3/image.png)\n\nHave you followed??? Bravo! Ok now just few ways to show you how horrible is this way of doing business.\n\n1. Time: each bank must review the documents… imagine if your shipment takes only 3 days to arrive at destination…\n\n2. L/C wording: if there are any words wrongly written in the set of documents remitted to the bank. This will be treated as a discrepancy and will lift the obligation from your bank to pay you… So the bank which you pay for the guarantee of payment is incentive to find mistake in your documents in order to relieve it from it obligation\n\n3. Manpower: You need someone in house reviewing and issuing each document to be perfectly in accord with L/C terms. Something you need 13 documents issued by different parties and you must make sure that the wording stays exactly the same as per the L/C requirement.\n\n4. Banks are not willing to work with any other banks! If your client is located in a small country with no large international banks. It may almost be impossible to find another bank willing to work with them… OR you need to add a 3rd bank between OB and SB to bridge the trust. And don’t forget ! each bank takes a fees.\n\nI can go on, for hours like on how stupide this method is.\n\nBut here comes the light! the block chain and smart contracts!\n\nThe blockchain/smart contract has the ability to complete solve the trust issue that L/Cs were supposed to solve. We can easily imagine smart contracts with the following logics :\n\n* Seller has to comply with Y,Z\n* Inspection company has to do X\n* Then when shipping company scan the containers at the arrival payment is executed.\n\nI’m not saying this will arrive within 5 years, but I’m sure we will come to this point. There are no reason to continue with this flawed system.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVrBS238oDXsecF78u7LUCY9GDdhAeTmYzckJ7nAstCEU/image.png)\n\nOk, this is a real issue. The volatility incentives bad behaviors among the market participants.\n\nYou are a one of the biggest coal buyer in China. You have concluded a delivery in 8 months with a small Singaporean trader from an Australian mine. As you think that the market will increase, and you want to cover your needs. Bad luck, you are complete wrong, the market is divided by 2.  You can buy the exact same coal for 300’000USD the cargo instead of 600’000USD. Furthermore, your company is not in a good financial shape, and 300’000USD would really help you. What do you do? Are you really going to honor your contract and take the shipment? You are in China, you know for the Singaporean it’s going to be almost impossible to take any legal action against you. What do you do ?\n\nWhere do I want to go with that ? I’m just saying that the people with the right leverages will not accept (or be able) to take their losses and there will be collateral damages. In the current crypto world, there are a lot of games of powers amplifies by the crazy market volatility. The volatility reduces the market adoptions by the more conservative people and push to speculation and bad behaviors.\n\nAt a certain point, we will need to cryptocurrencies markets to calm the f*** down to have a broader and healthier adoption.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUJ6Ve7SnRQhL5qWDd44ANQDpJSjiGPjZ1uKFtdpWk4k2/image.png)\n\nIf you follow my instragram https://www.instagram.com/shipping.and.commodity.academy/,\n\nyou see that I spend a lot of time out of the western world. Those people are the one needing THE MOST a cryptocurrency not regulated by any central entities.  Tho, there are the most in need of the technology, I don’t see a massive adoption before it’s common practice in the western world.\n\n* Computer education: The new middle class all use smartphone, but I noticed that their educations in term of how to use a computer is small. Using a simple office suite, it’s not as common as we could think.\n \n* General education: The level of extrapolation you need to attain to understand the concept of cryptocurrency is already quite challenging for the people with a high education. So, imagine when you have none… Cryptocurrency must be easy to use and already quite advanced in their general adoption to have a mind-switch and start to use the currency as it is without having the need to understand what’s behind it.\n \n* Currency control: This is the biggest hurtle. Of course, the government will do everything in their power to avoid a general acceptance of cryptocurrency. But don’t forget that most of the less developed countries have currency control. Meaning you must show a proof and provide an explanation when you want to exchange your local currency in USD or EUR. Therefore, how can you send your money to a broker ? As far as I know there are no brokers accepting Guinean franc or Algerian dinar.\n \n* Cash is king : Yes… most of the transaction are cash-based. Believe me, I saw backpack full of cash to pay a container of sugar or rice…! And people have no bank account. I met few rich people who rather have a safe hidden than a bank account.\n\nCONCLUSION\n\nI deeply believe that the blockchain technology will dramatically decreases the cost of international trade while making it less risky.\n\nFor the less developed countries, I truly think they are the one who need the most an alternative to their current currency. Unfortunately for them, I also think there are massive challenge to overcome before seeing a broader adoption.\n\nNow, I have strictly no idea if buying Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any new cryptocurrencies is a good idea. You don’t want to put your money in the NOKIA/BLACKBERRY of phone or KODAK of camera. I don’t know.\n\nJust be wise and don’t invest/gamble with money you need.",
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      "body": "![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZ6JkLeWGATVKZRHet9mAftx3cw66Vbu38kSZjGAzMnw3/image.png)\n\nBeing a commodity trader doesn’t require any specific formation. Of course, you may not get a job without a diploma, sure, but school IS NOT the place that will make you a great commodity trader. You need specifc soft skills!\n\n## All-star commodity traders that I know have those 4 soft skills:\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmP5X3uUGWuKULV6zfYuBcMtGZTFjdoFxdCj2ksQQ7iUvZ/image.png)\n\nHow can you sell/buy if people don’t return your calls?  How can you gather data if nobody wants to talk to you? Who can you call in case everything goes south?\n\nRemember we are talking about physical products, with buyers and sellers on both ends. If people hate talking to you because you make them feel a certain way, you are not going to get far. High Sociable skills will help you being more likable and building a bulletproof network, which is the only way to access to life time deals.\n\nObnoxious traders do exist. But they are more falling-stars than rising-stars. A person with such attitude completely relay on his company “name” or market position to close deals. This is a dangerous position to be, especially when this kind of behaviour appears after a couple of “good” years where the trader “rode” an easy market.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcvvZA7SfToowzjdtEqwhWvAY7Z1Fwbc7ro5UAaXPhCgx/image.png)\n\n## Be Healthy !\n\nI dunno if being healthy could be in the “soft” skills family, but what I know : you need to stay healthy if you want to thrive in the industry. Travelling is exciting but could be sooooo exhausting. Below a heavy week drawn from real life example :\n\n* Monday – Morning breakfast with a CEO in Zug, Switzerland – 4 hours’ drive to the office\n* Tuesday – Take a plane to Karachi, Pakistan\n* Wednesday – 6 hours’ drive to visit the client facility\n* Thursday – 6 hours’ drive retour to Karachi – Dinner with clients\n* Friday – Return to Geneva, Switzerland – Take a plane to London, UK\n* Saturday – Take a plane back to Geneva, hit the office\n\nThe issue is not the state of tiredness that you will hit after a week like this but the wrong decisions you may take due to this state. Be healthy to stay sharp in any situation!\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTQxebptspcoDZzteyESpk6S4PKArcp2NiWWr2M76pm3Q/image.png)\n\nI put analytic in a soft skill, because I do not mean analytic in a mathematical way. For sure, you need to be OK in math to be trader. But a far greater skill is to connect the dots.\n\n* Gathering data\n* Make data speaks\n* Cutting through the noise\n* Recognize trends\n\nBy data I mean everything you can capture when you hit the ground. Suspicious slow stockpiles turnover, early new incomers, shift on the consumer taste, trucking companies sold to an unknown buyer, etc… You have to adapt to any market situation BEFORE it’s reflected in the numbers. To get that knowledge you must speak with the producers, processors, clients, shipping people, every counterparty has a piece of the forever changing puzzle.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcEnnezWCt4sNHe6TpwFK51uqLQv3LW5d4xLrtfuRFn6f/image.png)\n\n## Be mentally strong !\n\nYou need to avoid external factors clouding your judgement. You must keep mental clarity even when you heat a huge stress peak. I know it’s difficult to imagine when you have never been in that position, but a career/company could be ended by a couple of bad decisions taken under a high level of stress.\n\n\n[Instargam](https://www.instagram.com/shipping.and.commodity.academy/) // [Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.ch/shippingandcommodityacademy/) // [Blog](http://shippingandcommodityacademy.com/category/blog/)",
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      "author": "damienw",
      "body": "Merci Yaak ! \n\nLe truc en parlant la langue de ton interlocuteur (même très mal) va te rendre tout de suite plus \"likable\"!",
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      "body": "j'aime, super post.\nje pense que les langues important a savoir sont différente par region ou tu vie.\npar example en Europe de l'Ouest je pense que ça suffit de savoir parles anglais et francais pour ce fair comprendre",
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      "body": "![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbh6qDK8qN4GG9NF12NcirY7y6s9r5sEiXWfosRaFsfzZ/image.png)\n\n# MEET THE OPERATOR\n\n## An important step to become a physical commodity trader and an indispensable link in the logistic chain.\n\nOnce a trader closes a new contract the operator enters in scene to execute the contract. The operator is a kind of orchestra conductor, he coordinates the entire logistics operation to ensure a smooth delivery on time and cost efficient.\n\nThe operator is the nexus where all the information converges from your shipping dep, terminals, inspector, agents, seller, buyer, etc…   The operator also informs the trading desk about every piece of information that could be useful that they gather by speaking with the people on the ground. For instance, a cargo from a competitor has just been rejected or foresee a logistic bottle-neck due to harsh weather.\n\nLittle story about that, a friend of mine worked in a very aggressive mid-size commodity trading house. They owned a coal mine in a very exotic location with poor logistic assets. He needed trucks to move the coal from the mine to the port. I’m not familiar with coal trading but I guess you need a shitload of truck rotations to move 60’000mt of coal to embark on a handymax.\n\nTheir direct competitor knowing that a vessel was about to arrive AND the entire coal was not all at the terminal, they offered a lot more of money to the owner of the trucking company to move their cargo in priority. As the guy had a kind of monopoly on the truck deliveries of the region and it was impossible to force him to follow his previous agreement. Long story short, they suffered from costly delay in their loadings. All of that couldn’t be engineered if the operator was not up-to-date of the current stock situation at the terminal…!\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbEyyLDsysxmZfmAVd9vEw68yZbquKWSxxc7MWt4YEcim/image.png)\n\nAs every company could have specifics demands for their operator positions, you will find below 4 opening descriptions for an operator’s position. It will give an idea about the main aspects of the job.\n\n1.\n* Manage all operations aspects: from the contract to the payment, including laytime and demurrage calculations.\n* Manage the contracting process (purchase, checks, amendments, invoices, etc).\n* Responsible for all the shipping aspects: ensure coordination and correspondence with vessels.\n* Handle the nomination, instruction and correspondence with inspectors & terminal suppliers.\n* Manage documentary credits and be in contact with Banks.\n \n2\n* Managing Dry Bulk vessels and the operations\n* Coordinating the shipments with the different stakeholders (clients, transporters, traders)\n* Generating purchase orders and invoices\n* Preparing letters of credit\n* Settling and following-up demurrages\n\n3\n* Vessel chartering or container shipments in co-operation with the chartering department; organizing rail, truck and air transport or releasing of material in warehouse\n* Opening of and checking of L/Cs for our suppliers and receivers; requesting amendments and negotiating documents for collection of payment\n* Calculation of metal quantity and foreign currency amounts to be priced\n* Correspondence on availability of materials in production, transit and in stock; documentation, invoicing, outgoing and incoming payments, client exposure control and claim handling\n* Insuring risks of each transport as well as material in storage\n \n4\n* Organizing and controlling bulk shipments, keeping contact with producers, customers, warehouses and agents\n* Document negotiation\n* Opening letters of credits\n* Vessel logistics from loading to discharge\n* Rail and truck logistics\n* Maintaining open communication with Traders ensuring execution of the contracts\n \nThanks for your time.\n\nIf you want to have more info about the shipping and commodity market. Subscribe to our mailing list [Shipping and Commodity Academy - Physical commodity trading ressource](http://shippingandcommodityacademy.com/)\n\n[Instargam](https://www.instagram.com/shipping.and.commodity.academy/) // [Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.ch/shippingandcommodityacademy/) // [Blog](http://shippingandcommodityacademy.com/category/blog/)",
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      "body": "Commodities are raw materials used for production. Therefore, one way or another you use commodities everyday of your life. Energy, electricity, food, transport, tools, clothes, EVERYTHING is made from commodities. As they are unevenly distributed on the earth surface countries must trade to get what they need, hence import/export.\n\nThis post is a kind of follow up on my previous one about commodity languages. It aims to show the amount of data you can quickly and easily find on any countries/commodities for free!\n\nThose data could be useful when you are looking for a new position. When you get an interview/call for a new job you usually receive a specification sheet with the entire details about the position. Once this information in hand, I hardly encourage you to get to know everything about the country/region that you would face if you were hired. As a result, a study of the region history with a close look of the import/export is the bare minimum!\n\nThink of Brazil, we all know this is the 1st sugar export. But did you know it was also the case for tobacco leaves? Now you could say, What the heck do I need to know anything about tobacco leaves if I trade sugar?  Maybe the tobacco harvest may create a shortage of container in some part of the brazil which may lead to an increase in the freight price… or not. In this line of work, it’s always important to think laterally to connect the dots.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQme85fF7EAzvcfNUpFrzofeiABCJ1jYRpnRG3yGSmDKyfk/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRoHXSzuPWGKnGn1H9CiQWsqpFBuigf56wnH4bPQ63E7Y/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQwGtrDk6uUmj5UgBtBLRc3tm61v7hBHjqVX7BdpE6hWC/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcqV38c6iBBLmzdxLXdd7mooec1mg61zxrGNeP18wHsvT/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmb4jnYUqArk64rHr6XGQNQZGQVjkxswdgEnuZhs3mdBuP/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmV5mFh83Tms9ie92dHPbjBSEY5Fy8WXnZNDr1k8Uh8RtH/image.png)\n\nIn the infographics above we are taking into account the entire tree of HS code below the numbers :\n\n2109   Petroleum Oil / 90111 Green Coffee / 1801Cocoa Beans /1701 Sugar /1001 Wheat/ 31Fertilizer / 1006 Rice /1005 Corn / 5201 Cotton/ 8001 Tin / 74 Copper / 73 Aluminum / 72 Iron & steel /2401Tobacco /1201 Soybeans /4001Natural Rubber\n\nYou can check my previous [post here](https://steemit.com/commodity/@damienw/how-to-spot-commodity-flows) if you don’t know what HS code is.\n\nData comes from trademap.org\n\nIf you want to have more info about the shipping and commodity market. Subscribe to our mailing list [Shipping and Commodity Academy - Physical commodity trading ressource](http://shippingandcommodityacademy.com/)\n\n[Instargam](https://www.instagram.com/shipping.and.commodity.academy/) // [Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.ch/shippingandcommodityacademy/) // [Blog](http://shippingandcommodityacademy.com/category/blog/)",
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      "title": "Commodities exporter infographics"
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      "body": "![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZAZvbW6v9LBUrCv8fjbwdzcoEQHTyARQa7bCQu4nzcEB/image.png)\n\n# Commodity flows ?\n \nRecently I had a couple of questions about trade flows and commodity flows.\nHow do you know which country export commodities? which country import?\nThose kinds of question are easily answered! \nI’m not an analyst but I can give you the right path to follow in order to have a global view.\n\n# Be the HS code master\n \nFirst, you need to know under which HS code the commodity is classified. The Harmonized System code is an international nomenclature used to classified each product.\n[Check Wikipedia for more info about the HS code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonized_System)\nI encourage you to use the Swiss custom website to find under which HS code your product could be shipped.\n\nSo, let’s illustrate how I would do it with “Sugar”\n\n1st go to the xtares.admin.ch website\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQACDmweT55uyzSi9UpVgNiaSn5midpcVnvQtwDsPvavy/image.png)\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUBExvBcWAre8Kik2o6946CsVFL1ZJuRkL3XBJ43VaT7J/image.png)\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSB2Kz9c1C7VqKf1hUoxpUraYJ1QJiTnCgJ8V91aqTB3R/image.png)\n\nOnce you found the right product, you can choose the level of granularity that you want. \n\nAs you can see above we have\n\n* 1701 for raw sugar\n* 17011200 for beet sugar\n* 17011300 for cane sugar\n\n# Data Collection \n \nTo collect the data, I like to use the site www.trademap.org. It complies data from the UN comtrade.\nYou will be able to see the quantity/value declared for any given HS code.\nIt’s important to take those numbers with precaution. As in some countries, the reporting is not as accurate as it should be… But it still gives a good idea on the macro level.\n\nLet’s carry on with our sugar on trademap.org:\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVsVKud42ZQrXgA3kry5hJcLFARBMJoUBX9Y8jZSquRVB/image.png)\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmejuLc7Ev4rqegbzh9shkEjYbF1iHyzFgRfTtJuBdY8UT/image.png)\n\nTadam ! and hop ! You have the data !\n\n# Deeper analyse\n \nWhat we have just seen is really basic. Now if you don’t want macro information but create a real model, you need to follow what the best trading companies do. It’s going micro et scaling up.\nBasically, you take the pocket of demand in each country and aggregated them on a worldwide model. It’s a gigantesque task, but give a real hedge once applied.  We deconstruct one of this model on our module”.\n \nAs always, any questions ! feel free to ask !\n\n[Instargam](https://www.instagram.com/shipping.and.commodity.academy/) // [Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.ch/shippingandcommodityacademy/) // [Blog](http://shippingandcommodityacademy.com/category/blog/)",
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      "body": "# Communication is the most important skill in shipping and commodity trading\n\n\n_Hey Damien! everyone speaks English, why should I care about another language?_\n\nOf course, everyone speaks a kind of globish English. But this is far from enough! when you want to be ahead, you need to communicate with your counterparties in their native language. By speaking their mother tongue, you will create a rapport different than your competitor. This relationship will allow you to get better deal, last refusal, ease the claims, etc…No wonder why the most successful people in the commodity and shipping industry are polyglot.\n\nFurthermore, You don’t need to be fluent! Making the effort to speak in their languages and switching to English when it becomes too complicated is completely fine. Did you for instance know that in Japan the color white represents mourning? So if you are selling party gifts to Japan make sure you don’t wrap them in white paper! The examples of businesses not succeeding because of such cultural misunderstandings are many. Make sure you don’t make this mistake! If you fail in bringing your message across — your business will also fail. If you can’t excite the people about your product — if you can’t get them to trust you.\n\nBy learning a new language, you will learn so much about new parts of the world. This is by far the best way to make you someone more interesting and waayyyyy more performant in your industry.\nThe following infographics show the languages importance per commodity\n\n**Metals**\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSx2X9CFPN2PchhZnfwCXaFJA27v1swLXnsHLyayg8U9z/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmT1nH58r8fHhRY9J6UeUjzryxsstn22ATB5hwAov2DG5A/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWhpZ5mSF6a6sTDy2M4ZZyhfW7H52f7VXLNXTwRio4gBS/image.png)\n\n**Grains**\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRXdpak6XoiRgHUfY9EiGQkYMSKkYQM6pukkygS5GqiMU/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZA9ZwXyPapj3mYNVTsyJFAycNuAXLAhqoKPcs7cQB29g/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYJKHNFYriRvdaZibLuLrn8QVzkfLrMW8aWbLXuMgjB63/image.png)\n\n**Softs**\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPZkYG8Nbig8yH8euB3mBCEcpudL6p9K1EprdXQ3AQSPX/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZkqtoK9dUoNLoHRW4XngePi2iksHB6k4YtUYZwwFpCnQ/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaxskrpa7Pzq3RPeqZ17BtYSVdqWCdHN6NViMkehdmAhw/image.png)\n\nI know learning a new language could feel like a giant pain in the XXXXX, especially if you were a bad “language” student just like me… (a shame coming from a country with 4 official languages). Today it exists, waaaayyyyy better way to learn new languages than what we were taught at school.\n\nHere a link a highly recommand [Tim blog](https://tim.blog/2014/03/21/how-to-learn-a-foreign-language-2/)\n\nIf you want to have more info about the shipping and commodity market. Subscribe to our mailing list [Shipping and Commodity Academy - Physical commodity trading ressource](http://shippingandcommodityacademy.com/)\n\n[Instargam](https://www.instagram.com/shipping.and.commodity.academy/) // [Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.ch/shippingandcommodityacademy/) // [Blog](http://shippingandcommodityacademy.com/category/blog/)",
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      "body": "Communication is the most important skill in shipping and commodity trading\n\nHey Damien! everyone speaks English, why should I care about another language?\n\nOf course, everyone speaks a kind of globish English. But this is far from enough! when you want to be ahead, you need to communicate with your counterparties in their native language. By speaking their mother tongue, you will create a rapport different than your competitor. This relationship will allow you to get better deal, last refusal, ease the claims, etc…No wonder why the most successful people in the commodity and shipping industry are polyglot.\n\nFurthermore, You don’t need to be fluent! Making the effort to speak in their languages and switching to English when it becomes too complicated is completely fine. Did you for instance know that in Japan the color white represents mourning? So if you are selling party gifts to Japan make sure you don’t wrap them in white paper! The examples of businesses not succeeding because of such cultural misunderstandings are many. Make sure you don’t make this mistake! If you fail in bringing your message across — your business will also fail. If you can’t excite the people about your product — if you can’t get them to trust you.\n\nBy learning a new language, you will learn so much about new parts of the world. This is by far the best way to make you someone more interesting and waayyyyy more performant in your industry.\nThe following infographics show the languages importance per commodity\n\nMetals\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSx2X9CFPN2PchhZnfwCXaFJA27v1swLXnsHLyayg8U9z/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmT1nH58r8fHhRY9J6UeUjzryxsstn22ATB5hwAov2DG5A/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWhpZ5mSF6a6sTDy2M4ZZyhfW7H52f7VXLNXTwRio4gBS/image.png)\n\nGrains\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRXdpak6XoiRgHUfY9EiGQkYMSKkYQM6pukkygS5GqiMU/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZA9ZwXyPapj3mYNVTsyJFAycNuAXLAhqoKPcs7cQB29g/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYJKHNFYriRvdaZibLuLrn8QVzkfLrMW8aWbLXuMgjB63/image.png)\n\nSofts\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPZkYG8Nbig8yH8euB3mBCEcpudL6p9K1EprdXQ3AQSPX/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZkqtoK9dUoNLoHRW4XngePi2iksHB6k4YtUYZwwFpCnQ/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaxskrpa7Pzq3RPeqZ17BtYSVdqWCdHN6NViMkehdmAhw/image.png)\n\nI know learning a new language could feel like a giant pain in the XXXXX, especially if you were a bad “language” student just like me… (a shame coming from a country with 4 official languages). Today it exists, waaaayyyyy better way to learn new languages than what we were taught at school.\n\nHere a link a highly recommand Tim blog\n\nhttps://tim.blog/2014/03/21/how-to-learn-a-foreign-language-2/\n\nIf you want to have more info about the shipping and commodity market. Subscribe to our mailing list\nShipping and Commodity Academy - Physical commodity trading ressource\n\nhttp://shippingandcommodityacademy.com/",
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