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A long term approach

 

Trafigura trades commodities, such as crude oil, refined products, concentrates and refined metals and provides the ships and facilities to store and transport them.

 

Physical trading is a long-term business. Investment in and access to key physical assets around the world is central to our business model. Management of ships, storage tanks, mines and other logistical assets gives us a business advantage while demonstrating our commitment to the territories in which we operate.

 

Primarily run by local management, our hubs are highly attuned to the regions in which they operate; our people are encouraged to take the initiative in spotting opportunities and opening up new areas of supply and demand.

 

We believe in the importance of responding to market needs rather than trying to shape them. The ability to do so rests on the strength of the partnerships that we build and the passionate interest that each trader takes in his or her area of expertise.

 

Our cultural diversity, and the many connections between our local trading hubs and the markets they serve, provides a vast resource of detailed information, which we integrate into a global picture of shifting trends.

 

Trafigura’s approach is to respond quickly and precisely to the opportunities that arise through shortage or surplus, often by releasing the reserves of a commodity that we have in storage or diverting those in transit.

 

The impact on the global economy is a smoothing out of the peaks and troughs in global supply and demand.

 

Private ownership enables us to make rapid decisions as well as to take long-term views on new markets and opportunities. The strong growth experienced by Trafigura over the past four years testifies to the value of this approach.

 

Supporting our customers and suppliers often means providing services beyond our core business of sourcing and supplying commodities. Increasingly we are offering logistical transport as well as finance and other types of risk management to our customers.

 

Galena Asset Management, is one example of this. Established in 2004, and now the appointed manager of three separate funds, with over USD$700 million under management. Galena's advantage is its ability to leverage information and analysis from its close relationship to our physical trading business.