STOP WITH THE MYTH OF COFFEE BEING SECOND MOST TRADED COMMODITY !

It’s a common belief that coffee is the second most traded commodity worldwide, following oil. However, recent data challenges this notion, especially when focusing solely on agricultural commodities. Dr. Samo Smrke from Coffee Excellence Center in Zurich posted about this on Instagram a while ago. ChatGPT spat out this untrue « fact » as first idea for an « interesting fact about coffee ». It looks that over 200 scientific publication claim this, but none cite it. Oldest mention I could find was from 1999 and was unrelated article, without a reference

 

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) FAOSTAT database, both wheat and soybeans surpass coffee in global trade volume and value.

 

In 2023, the export values were:

– Soybeans: Approx. USD 100 billion. Significant export value, with Brazil’s soybean exports alone accounting for 50% of the country’s total food net export value.

– Wheat: Approx. USD 60 billion.

– Coffee: Approx. USD 30 billion. While substantial, coffee’s export value remains below that of wheat and soybeans.

 

The differences with the export volumes are even more obvious. So, export value or export volume show that coffee is and probably was never the most agricultural traded commodity.

 

These figures highlight the prominence of wheat and soybeans in global agricultural trade, positioning them ahead of coffee. According to MIT’s Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), coffee is the world’s 98th most-traded product. Green coffee comes in at 114, while roasted coffee ranks 301st. (All data appears to be from 2015). Sure, we’re talking about products here. But there are plenty of commodities above coffee in this list: oils, metals, crops…

In fact, coffee isn’t even the world’s second-most traded agricultural product. That would be wheat, at position 70, after soybeans at number 54.

 

For a more comprehensive understanding and detailed statistics, you can explore the FAOSTAT database directly: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home

 

Note: The export values mentioned are based on the latest available data from FAOSTAT and other reputable sources.

 

Other source: https://perfectdailygrind.com/2017/05/coffee-isnt-worlds-2nd-most-traded-commodity-but-its-important/