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.
The level of control they have over essential raw materials is eye-watering. The four largest agricultural commodity traders – Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus – control around 75% to 90% of the global grain trade. Just three traders – Vitol, Glencore and Trafigura – handle the equivalent of half of OPEC’s total oil output. In 2010, Glencore accounted for 55% of the global zinc market and 36% of the global copper market, and in 2015 Wilmar dealt with 45% of global trade in palm oil. The annual revenues of the major commodity trading firms are often comparable to, and sometimes even exceed, those of Wall Street banks and major oil companies.
