FAQs

Key price discovery platforms and exchanges include:

• Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction (New Zealand)
• Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (USA) for butter, cheese, and milk futures
• European Energy Exchange (EEX) (Europe) for European dairy products

The main globally traded dairy commodities are:

• Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP)
• Whole Milk Powder (WMP)
• Butter
• Cheese
• Whey powder

The main exporting regions for dairy products globally are the EU, New Zealand, the US, Australia, the UK and Argentina.

The EU is the largest dairy exporter by total value and volume, meanwhile New Zealand is the most export-oriented dairy country in the world, with over 90% of its milk production going to export markets.

The dairy market is influenced by a complex set of factors impacting supply and demand.

Here are the most significant ones:

• milk production
• trade policy and tariffs
• geopolitical and economic conditions
• processing capacity
• product valorisation
• key consumers trends

Key factors include:

• Weather conditions (such as drought or frost in Brazil)
• Crop diseases (like coffee leaf rust)
• Changes in government regulations such as the EUDR
• Supply chain disruptions
• Changes input costs such as fertilizers and energy
• Currency fluctuations (especially the Brazilian Real and US Dollar)
• Consumption trends and global demand

The primary coffee futures exchanges are:

• ICE (Intercontinental Exchange) in New York: Arabica
• ICE Europe in London: Robusta

By volume, the majority of cocoa products are manufactured into finished chocolate, but chocolate-flavored products such as ice cream, baked goods, compound, and beverages are all produced. Additionally, cocoa butter is sometimes used for health & beauty products.

Most cocoa products in a tradeable form start out as cocoa beans. From there, further processing can turn them into either cocoa liquor (also known as cocoa mass) or a combination of cocoa butter and cocoa powder. These products form the majority of traded cocoa products globally, with cocoa butter and liquor largely being used in the production of chocolate, while cocoa powder goes into any number of products which are chocolate-flavored, such as ice creams, beverages, baked goods and others.

Supply issues caused by poor weather in Western Africa and diseases such as black pod and swollen shoot virus have devastated cocoa plantations, reducing the available supply. Demand has stayed consistently strong, resulting in increasing cocoa prices.

Coffee will generally be manufactured into either roast in bag, roast and ground, or a soluble coffee like instant. Increasingly there is a trend towards coffee extracts, but most coffee will be manufactured to be consumed as a drink in its final state.

For most coffee, the price paid for green (unroasted) coffee is made up of two parts – the futures price for the variety of arabica or robusta, and a differential or basis that accounts for the exact origin and grade. There are other factors like sustainability certifications that add additional cost, as well as storage delivery charges based on location. However, some speciality coffees will often be priced on an outright basis, often agreed directly between the buyer and the producer, based on a direct sourcing model.

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.