How this market actually works.

Payments

July 27, 2026

15 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

UCP 600, in full: the rulebook behind every letter of credit

Almost every commodity payment runs on a rulebook most buyers have never read. What UCP 600 is, how a letter of credit works under it, and why it protects both sides.

Trade terms

July 27, 2026

10 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

Incoterms 2020, in full: all eleven rules and who bears what

Eleven three-letter rules from the ICC decide, at each point of a shipment, who pays, who carries the risk, and who clears customs. Here are all of them.

Reference

July 27, 2026

7 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

The ICC: the rulebooks that make global trade work

Behind almost every cross-border contract sits one institution that ships nothing and lends nothing. It writes the rules the rest of the world agreed to use.

Process

July 24, 2026

7 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

How we structure a sugar transaction, and what protects the buyer at each step

How a physical sugar transaction is structured, from LOI to payment, and why each stage exists to protect both sides.

Market integrity

July 16, 2026

7 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

Real offer or scam? The signals that separate a genuine deal from a fraud

This market carries more fraud than almost any other in physical trade. You cannot avoid every bad actor, but nearly every scam shares the same handful of tells.

Logistics

July 7, 2026

6 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

Brazil as origin: harvest, ports and the logistics that make delivery reliable

A contract is a promise about the future. What makes it credible is the machinery behind it: the harvest, the ports, and the calendar that governs both.

Intermediaries

June 25, 2026

6 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

The broker and the IMFPA: how fees are protected without distorting the deal

Most people in a commodity deal are neither buyer nor seller. Handled properly, the intermediaries are not a risk to remove. They are how deals get found.

Origin

June 9, 2026

6 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

Why we will not name the mill before contract, and why that protects you

To a new buyer, protecting origin looks like something to hide. It is the opposite. The logic, in full, and how you verify the product without ever seeing the source.

Compliance

May 18, 2026

6 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

KYC and compliance: what we ask, why we ask it, and what it protects

Compliance has a reputation for slowing deals down. In this market it does the opposite: it is the fastest way to tell a real counterparty from a costly one.

Inspection

April 28, 2026

5 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

What SGS and Intertek actually verify at loading

The most valuable document in a trade is not the one from the last shipment. It is the report on your cargo, at loading, by an inspector you accept.

Payments

April 7, 2026

7 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

DLC or SBLC? How payment actually works under UCP 600

A letter of credit replaces trust between two companies with the obligation of a bank. Here is the difference between the two instruments, and what 'conforming documents' really means.

Trade terms

March 17, 2026

6 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

Incoterms 2020 for commodity buyers: FOB, CFR and CIF without the fine print

The three-letter term on your contract does not set price or quality. It sets where the seller's risk ends and yours begins. Getting it wrong is expensive.

Strategic minerals

February 24, 2026

6 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

Niobium and Brazil's strategic minerals: why concentration changes how they trade

Brazil holds most of the world's niobium. That fact shapes the product, the buyers, and why this trade moves through mandates rather than open offers.

Commodity focus

February 3, 2026

6 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

Frozen chicken paws: the specification, the plant approval, and the China trade

One of the largest protein flows between Brazil and Asia turns on a cut most Western buyers ignore. What defines quality, and what actually clears the cargo.

Commodity focus

January 14, 2026

6 min read

By Hugo Amanajás

ICUMSA 45, 100, 150 and VHP: what the sugar numbers actually mean

The grade on a sugar offer is a colour reading, not a brand. Here is what each number means, who buys it, and how to read a real specification.