It is often argued that the competitiveness of ports depends on their ability to insert themselves in global supply chains. However, the influential role of commodity traders in managing these global supply chains is not well understood by port planners. The case for commodity trade is compelling. It is linked with the financial sector on the one hand and with production, storage and distribution on the other. And these activities do not necessarily need to be in each other’s proximity. Another compelling reason to look at commodity trade is that access to, and control over, increasingly scarce commodities and contested supply routes are becoming more and more of a geopolitical concern.

In an article, published in Port Technology International [issue 61], PortEconomics associate member Wouter Jacobs, along with Thomas van Bergen (research assistant at ITMMA-University of Antwerp) help understanding the economic geography of commodity trade.

You can freely download and read the article @ PortEconomics.