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Commodity trading firms are among the most important corporations in global capitalism, yet most people have never heard of them.
As intermediaries between suppliers and buyers of primary and secondary commodities, these shadowy entities are key players in vital international markets, from aluminium and crude oil to soybean meal and zinc. They use their transportation, processing and storage capabilities to capitalise on disruptions in global supply chains, and they trade on derivatives markets to both hedge against, and speculate on, price fluctuations.
For commodity traders, instability is good for business. When a global pandemic leads to the shuttering of factories and massive shifts in consumer demand, the traders can profit from the resulting volatility. When drought in the American Midwest leads to a reduction in the domestic supply of livestock feed in the US, they can use their transportation capabilities to ship more soybeans from Brazil. And
Science, not sanctions, will save our planet
Hard facts correct European palm oil misperceptions - and point the way to a sustainable biofuel strategy, argues Dr Nafeez Ahmed.
Adobe stock
03 May 2021
The world is confronted by two interrelated crises. The first is immediately urgent: ongoing deforestation is increasing the likelihood of future pandemics. As barriers between humans and wildlife decrease, greater interspecies contact means rising potential for dangerous disease transfer. The second is a systemic threat with terrible long-term repercussions.
In 2019, the EU effectively prohibited imports of palm oil for biodiesel because of its alleged contribution to deforestation. While technically this is not an outright ban, it disincentivises businesses from importing palm oil under a shift toward renewable energy.
WASHINGTON, D.C. Friends of the Earth US and Global Witness are urging shareholders in one of the world’s largest agri–commodity traders to vote in favour of tackling deforestation at the company’s upcoming AGM.
Bunge Limited, a global commodity trader headquartered in the United States, is one of the biggest soy players in Brazil’s Cerrado, a vast biodiverse savannah and a vital carbon sink: in 2018, the company exported nearly 16 million tons of soy from the area.
Yet in the Cerrado, and around the world, Bunge is failing to mitigate or prevent deforestation and human rights abuses by companies in its supply chain (see Notes to Editor below). Bunge’s deforestation risk is far higher than any other commodity trader: in Brazil alone, Bunge’s soy operations were linked through its supply chain to deforestation in an area four-fifths the size of Chicago between 2015 and 2018. The company was also linked to 16,942 fire alerts in 2020.
SUNY faculty and staff push for retirement fund to divest from fossil fuel investments – The Statesman sbstatesman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sbstatesman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.