The US ranks highest in global commodity trading. But the UAE is only 1% behind.

The Commodity Trade Index (CTI) is a new industry benchmark which assesses the role of 10 key commodities trading hubs within the global commodity trade. It looks at 10 countries across 4 continents and evaluates each state based on three large groups of factors: commodity endowment, institutions, and location.

Locational and Trading Partner Factors

 

  1. Headquarter locations of major commodities trading houses
  2. Proximity to markets (based on commodity export data)
  3. Commodity trade partner tariffs on primary goods
Commodity Endowment Factors
  1. Tons of oil exported annually
  2. Hub’s share of global commodity trade for coffee, grains, sugar, gold, diamonds, soya beans, tea, cotton, silver, animals and animal products, and plastic
  3. Natural resource rents as a share of GDP
Institutional Factors
  1. Financial services infrastructure
  2. Attractiveness of the tax regime
  3. Strength of contract enforcement
  4. Ease of trading across borders

The US overtook the UAE to become the top global trading hub in the 2020 index. However, the UAE is only one percentage point behind.

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Country Locational and trading partner factors Commodity endowment factors Institutional factors Average Rank Rank change from 2018 report
US 38% 60% 86% 61% 1 -1
UAE 35% 74% 70% 60% 2 1
UK 38% 23% 75% 46% 3 0

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