A Comprehensive Introduction to Commodity Trade Finance

Commodity Trade : With the exception of precious or rare metals, commodities are typically mass-produced goods that are sold and delivered in bulk. They usually fall into three main categories that include agricultural products and raw materials:

Crops and animals raised on farms or plantations are considered “agro” commodities. Most agricultural products, such as grain, livestock, and dairy products, serve as a source of food for humans and animals around the world. Tobacco and cotton are examples of non-food agricultural products.

Metals and Mineral Commodities include

• Mineral assets like minerals, mined alumina,
• Modern and base metals like steel, copper, aluminium, zinc, nickel
• Precious metals like gold, silver.

Crude oil, heating oil, natural gas, and gasoline are all energy commodities.

Common characteristics of commodities include:

They are natural resources and raw materials that every economy requires. The product is fairly uniform. Deliveries are usually limited by space. Price volatility can be significant. They are manufactured, shipped and delivered in large quantities for economies of scale.

There are various dangers inherent in the subjects that can make their funding dangerous. For example, commodity trading creates profit and loss volatility for processors because they are exposed to fluctuations in the prices of their raw materials and may not be able to adjust the selling price of their products as quickly. High risks of primary production Energy and mining assets require significant investment. The production of agricultural commodities is often exposed to weather and disease risks.

Price Fluctuations

Commodity financing creates profit and loss fluctuations for processors as they are exposed to fluctuations in the prices of their raw materials.

However, commodity traders are less affected if they have not taken a position. The problem is that the net exchange position is not generally known to the agent.

Non-monetary gambling is considered high

Creation/Exchange includes problem areas that are considered more dangerous from a (I) natural, social and corporate governance (ESG) perspective (eg high-quality mining, child labour, deforestation, social abuse), (ii) FEC/AML perspective – for example, payoffs, defamation, tax evasion, extortion

Complex – because it involves different encounters in the exchange and commonly involves cross-sites.

Presentation of finances for the exchange of items

The place and season of creation of objects is generally unique in relation to the place and season of use. Therefore, physical trade will always be required, either to transport from one place to another or to fill time gaps.

• Financing the actual purchase and sale of a commodity is known as commodity trade financing.
• Other financing terms may apply when negotiating commodities. The differences between these terms are listed below:
• The umbrella term for financing everything in the commodity value chain, from production to processing to trade, is commodity finance.

Major players in commodity trade finance include:

Manufacturers: To finance the acquisition or improvement of their fixed assets, manufacturers usually require financing with longer maturities. Cash flow generated by operations is required for repayment.

Traders/Exchanges –

Brokers typically require transitional support (duration is generally between 30-180 days) associated with the resourcing pattern of their exchanges – including their purchases to the listing of the item.

Primary processors:

Primary processors typically require both short-term working capital financing and long-term financing.

What is the commodity trade financing process?

For example, one definition of commodity trade finance is the provision of financing to bridge the gap between a trader’s purchase of a commodity and his sale of the underlying commodity to a processor. In general, the stronger the control, the weaker the position.

Structures generally fall into one of the following categories: Transactional trade finance Borrowing basics Working capital Structured trade finance We’ll go through each one individually and look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Physical flow of goods:

Transactional trade finance occurs when a trader buys a commodity (for example, 5,000 metric tons of wheat) from a supplier and then simultaneously sells it to a buyer.

Narrative/installment

In violation of this agreement, the broker goes to his bank and requests that he support the purchase (import – assuming it is a cross exchange), with the understanding that the trades continue (send – if it is a cross exchange), they will used to pay the purchase support.

Before making a payment on behalf of the merchant, the supplier’s bank will require documentary evidence from the supplier (such as invoice, shipping/shipping documents, quality/quantity certificates, etc.).

The buyer’s bank then transfers the funds to the merchant’s bank based on this documentary evidence.

A typical transactional business flow looks like this:

• The broker enlightens the bank about the minutiae of the exchange with the bupplier and the buyer.
• The provider does this, yet has ownership (via narrative evidence such as a fill), thus the merchant decides to transfer the store to the buyer.
• The supplier delivers the documents to the supplier’s bank. The supplier’s bank forwards the documents to the merchant’s bank (either through documentary direct debit or through an import letter of credit (LC) issued by the merchant’s bank).
• The merchant’s bank submits the archives to the buyer’s bank (either under a narrative assortment or under a product letter of credit obtained from the buyer’s bank)
• The buyer’s bank will make sure that the records obtained are all together, enlighten the buyer