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Shipping and Commodity Academy Learn about PHYSICAL commodity trading; check the website => https://shippingandcommodityacademy.com

16/10/2026

Commodity trading is not about price.

It’s about people.

Anyone can look up today’s market price.

Google tells you in 2 seconds.

But only a handful of people know:

Which producer is desperate to move stock
Which buyer is bluffing on volume
Who can actually perform

That edge isn’t in a spreadsheet.

It’s in the relationship.

And relationships don’t get built on Zoom.

That’s the whole idea behind Tradeflow Summit, fewer slides, more handshakes.

Commodity trading is a people business; you have to take that plane if you want to make it, no alternative.

15/10/2026

The more I work with video calls, the more I think they’re killing companies.

It used to be faster.

You had a question.
You picked up the phone.
Two minutes later, it was solved.

Now?

Nobody picks up the phone anymore; it's “let’s schedule a call.”

I don't see the productivity gain here.

But speed isn’t the worst part.

The worst part is you don’t build relationships anymore.

A video call has an agenda; you cover the points, then “Thanks, talk soon, ciao."

Relationships are never built during the business part.

They’re built at the coffee machine, in the taxi, at dinner.

When you talk about kids, football, politicians, the country you both love.

That’s where it happens.

Who says what they think on recorded video calls?

Am I crazy? Am I the only one seeing this?

14/10/2026

From Geneva to Jakarta: what commodity trading taught me.

Commodity trading looks like numbers, contracts, and logistics.

Zoom out, and it’s a mirror of human nature.

In Geneva, a deal starts with structured calls, suits, and compliance filters.
In Jakarta, it might start with a 2-hour dinner, three espressos and a handshake.

Different rituals, but the essence remains the same.

🔹 Everyone wants to feel they got a good deal.
🔹 Silence often says more than words.
🔹 Reliability beats charm.
🔹 Humor opens doors faster than titles.
🔹 Respect looks different everywhere, but it’s always noticed.

I was reminded of this last week, reading who’s registered for Tradeflow Summit Dubai Nov 6- 7 (still only a dozen tickets available)

- A Togolese rice importer
- A Harare chrome and lithium family firm.
- A salt trader moving 10,000 tonnes a month.
- A ship charterer who started buying his own cargo.

Different countries, different cargoes, but the same game.

13/10/2026

International trading isn’t a 9 to 5. It’s:

Chasing documents across time zones.
Deals collapsing in minutes.
Sudden LC rejections.
2am calls.

The price of entry is steep.

And here’s the part nobody mentions:

It’s lonely.

Your friends don’t get it.
Your family doesn’t get it.

So you solve the same problems alone, over and over.

The best fix I’ve found: put yourself in a room with people who’ve already paid the price.

That’s why Tradeflow Summit starts on a Friday afternoon and ends with drinks.

The real conversations happen after the panels.

Dubai, 6-7 November.

The 2am calls don’t stop. But at least you’ll know who to call.

12/10/2026

What I learned trading commodities across 50 countries.

Commodity trading isn’t just numbers and contracts.

It’s border crossings.
Flooded roads.
Political chaos.
Delayed vessels.
Currency freezes.
Shady counterparties.
And once... goats on the runway.

Here’s what stuck:

Logistics makes or breaks your margin.
Reputation opens doors faster than capital.
Government policy can flip your P&L overnight.
Local intel is everything.

That last one is the most underrated.

That’s why we still fly to meet people even though video calls exist.

This is why your next stop should be Dubai, 6-7 November, 2 days of SME traders from every corner of the map at Tradeflow Summit.

09/10/2026

Trade finance is not a support function.

It’s the lifeblood of a commodity trading firm.

You can have the best suppliers,
the hungriest buyers,
and perfect market timing,

But without financing?

🫡

08/10/2026

The commodity trading life is awesome.

One day, you feel like you are on top of the world.

The next day, you feel like you're at the bottom of the ocean.

You can even feel both on the very same day.

EVEN AT THE VERY SAME TIME.

What do small commodity traders actually care about? I thought I had a pretty good idea. But as we are promoting the Tra...
07/10/2026

What do small commodity traders actually care about?

I thought I had a pretty good idea.

But as we are promoting the Tradeflow Summit Dubai, the first event built for SME commodity trading firms.

A pretty good idea isn't enough when you're spending your money... we wanted confirmation.

So we ran a test.

So we ran an experiment with 25 different ads, each with a different angle.

- Meet new counterparties.
- Meet the speakers.
- Stop explaining your business to people who don't get it.
- etc...

2.3 million impressions later, one angle won... by far.

- Trade finance - got the most clicks, the most email sign-ups.

And honestly, everybody who knows the industry wouldn't find it surprising.

So at the summit, we're bringing the people who actually lend to SMEs into the same room as the traders who need it.

Dubai, 6-7 November - 30 days to go -

06/10/2026

If you run a niche commodity trading firm, here's your reality check:

The big trading houses will never build a trade flow around your product.

Not because they can't, because they don't need to.

They already have everything: suppliers, buyers, banks, etc...

To them, a new origin or a new product from a small firm is noise.

So who builds new trade flows?

The small trading houses, the 5- to 10-person team type.

They say yes to the product nobody else wants to touch; they are the ones you can persuade to test one container.

The problem?

These SMEs are hard to find, they don't sit on panels, they don't have big booths at the leading conferences.

So that's why we built Tradeflow Summit.

For traders, SME founders, and the financiers who actually lend to SMEs.

Check out the event: Dubai, 6 & 7 November.

05/10/2026

Am I crazy, or is this backward?

As I'm promoting our upcoming event, the TradeFlow Summit in Dubai, the first event dedicated to SME commodity trading firms.

Someone replied: "I don't go to paid events."

Tbh, it triggered me...

Because I think the exact opposite!

A free event is open to everyone, and that's my problem.

It invites tourists.

A price point changes the crowd.

Physical trading runs on relationships, and everybody has a limited amount of time to build them.

Do you agree with me? Or am I missing something?

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