FAQs

Demand for beef is affected by consumer income and preferences, foodservice trends and global trade

Cattle inventory, feed costs, weather and production cycles all influence the supply of beef. 

External factors such as currency rates, animal disease, trade policy and environment regulations all affect the global beef market. 

Using independent, third-party data reduces reliance on supplier-driven pricing. It enables more fact-based negotiations and justifies pricing challenges or escalations.

Yes. The Expana platform provides multi-year historical pricing data, enabling you to benchmark, analyze trends, and identify long-term cost patterns.

Key drivers include weather conditions (e.g. drought, frost), crop yields, input costs (like fertilizers and energy), global demand, export restrictions, and inventory levels.

• India

• Netherlands

• China

• Mexico

• US

The main onion harvest season varies by region. In the European Union, Spain harvests from May to September, while the Netherlands and Poland focus on August to October. Italy’s harvest generally runs from June to August.

In North America, the United States sees early harvests in Texas from March to May, followed by California from April to July and again from August to October for storage onions. The northwestern states like Idaho, Oregon, and Washington also harvest between August and October. Mexico produces onions almost year-round, with peak harvests occurring between December and July, depending on the region.

In India, the primary harvest (Rabi crop) takes place from March to May, supported by additional harvests in October to December and January to March due to the country’s multiple cropping seasons.

A Price Reporting Agency (PRA) specializes in reporting on commodity prices with complete impartiality, having no vested interest in price movements. The primary goal of our price reporters is to publish accurate and transparent price points, along with detailed rationales and market analysis. At Expana, we provide comprehensive price reporting through our online platform, offering access to both real-time and historical price data. For more information, please refer to our methodology sections.

Expana Benchmark Prices are available via the Expana Platform; if you would like access to this platform please contact [email protected].

Expana Benchmark Prices get published on a twice daily, daily, twice weekly, weekly and monthly basis depending on the liquidity of the assessed markets.

The assessment will be available on our Expana Analytics platform the following day.

Buyers, sellers, traders and distributors use Expana Benchmark Prices as the basis for contract negotiations and as Benchmarks in contracts, as well as for risk management purposes.

Example: Company A purchases Vanilla Gourmet Grade FOB Madagascar from company B and pays company B on the basis of the NewCo Benchmark Price for Vanilla Gourmet Grade FOB Madagascar. As the NewCo Benchmark Price is an independent and trustworthy assessment of the vanilla market both the seller and the buyer know that the price they pay/receive is fair and reflective of the current market condition. The EBP levels the playing field and gives every market player easy access to reference price preventing them from overpaying or being underpaid. Sometimes the buyer and seller may also want to agree on a differential to the EBP for example because the quantity bought is much larger than the quantity outlined in the vanilla specifications which are freely available on our website. In this example the contract may read ‘Company A will buy Gourmet Grade Vanilla FOB Madagascar of Company B at EBP minus $x/kg.

Expana’s market reporters are experienced and well trained in the price discovery process and know that transparency is built upon trust. As there is no obligation for anyone to report prices to Expana, should we jeopardize this trust our contacts will cease to talk to us and the reliability and reputation of our price assessments will suffer. Therefore, keeping the identity of those that report price information to us confidential is critical for the price discovery process. Further to this we use secure technology to guard our data and systems from intrusion.

We always welcome your feedback and encourage you to reach out to us at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns. You can also find more information about our processes and complaints handling on our Methodology page

Expana is not involved in buying or selling commodities, and as such Expana does not benefit regardless of whether market prices go up or down. Therefore, Expana has no incentive to make assessments that do not reflect the true value of the market.

Expana confirms the price points it receives with sellers, buyers, and traders to give all sides of the market a chance to comment on price behaviour. Expana makes its data points available for review upon request and encourages people to contact us if they disagree with a price assessment.

Our proprietary pricing is based on robust pricing procedures that use clearly defined methodologies and price specifications. Our assessments are validated through our external IOSCO audit to ensure the highest quality and compliance. On top of this our methodology adapts as market conditions change because Expana Benchmark Prices follow the true physical market. Markets are dynamic and so is our methodology. You can find more information about our procedure on our Methodology pages.

Expana actively engages with a wide range of organisations from across the globe to reach not only the biggest players in the industry but also smaller and family run businesses.

As part of the price discovery process Expana market reporters will reach out to industry participants on a daily basis to collect price trends and market movements. People contacted by our team are buyers, sellers, traders, brokers and anyone else with relevant market information.

Expana welcomes price inputs from any industry participant that has relevant, non-speculative, information. Anyone wishing to participate in the EBP process can email us at [email protected].

Specially trained and experienced market reporters engage with the industry every day to identify price and demand/supply movements. Our market reporters speak to a wide range of industry participants ensuring a balanced discussion with the buy and sell side of the market. Price points obtained are cross checked to ensure validity.

For over 200 years Expana has been providing transparency for the commodity world and continues to improve the transparency of commodity markets. Many of the Expana Benchmark Prices cover opaque or illiquid markets making it difficult and costly for buyers and sellers to understand price behaviours and procure efficiently. Expana offers a trustworthy solution for this.

Expana Benchmark Prices (EBP) are Expana’s proprietary prices and the bellwether product for understanding price movements in their respective markets. EBP are based on a robust and tested methodology that is freely available to read in our Methodology section. Price points are collected by our market reporters and every data point is verified to ensure that the Expana Benchmark Prices are accurate, reliable and transparent.

Businesses can get started with Expana’s services by contacting their sales team or visiting their website to learn more about their offerings and discuss their specific requirements with a representative.

Yes, Expana’s commodity market intelligence is designed to cater to the needs of businesses of all sizes, from small and medium enterprises to large multinational corporations.