Out of the Shadows: The New Merchants of Grain

I knew Mr. Kingsman from his sugar conferences (I even got invited to speak at one) but he’s been a fixture in the agriculture markets for decades.After skimming through the TOC and seeing interviews with several names I know, respect and have worked with, I couldn’t wait to start reading it. I was not disappointed.Published 40 years after Dan Morgan's classic tome on grain traders, both are must reads for anyone in or around production agriculture, agribusiness or any of the other commodity markets.One (paraphrased) quote from the interviews in the book sums up the reasons for my passion for my chosen professional field...and why it was easy one for a Marine to transition into -"[Agribusiness] is a unique sector that combines [production agriculture] with geopolitics, economics, logistics, finance, and industrial activities."

Great update to Merchants of Grain.Shows the current active players but also their changing and different roles from the traditional grain price discovery business. Communication is now so ubiquitous that it has eliminated the major advantage of price discovery the old majors once held. Forcing the current players to adapt either down stream or total vertical integration.For those in the business - a worthwhile read.

Good to understand thoughts on current and future state but only comes from the companies viewpoint. Worthwhile read overall.

Not quite what I expected, and giving only the bright side of the story, almost like a collection of corporate brochures. Nevertheless, a good intro into the world of modern grain trading.

Even better than the original “Merchants of Grain.

The book is undoubtedly informative about the world of physical commodity trading as well as how physical flows are hedged in the futures market. It provides an overview of the key players through interviews as well as history.My main criticism would be that interviews with current traders often come across as a promotional piece, as existing employee of these companies are unlikely to disclose anything that could possibly be controversial. There are also a huge amount facts/figures, oftentimes far too many in one paragraph to take in.Recommended read for anyone with an interest in the sector though.

The section on Khoon Hong Kuok alone is a great reason for reading this book, with some great lessons for business (or any) students. At points there was a danger of each chapter turning into a marketing extract for the respective organisations, but the author did well to get under the skin of each of them.I liked the emphasis at the end on whether commodity trading is a good career for someone starting out, and its hard to disagree - geopolitics, economics, consumer food trends. I hope the author will write a book on cocoa / coffee.

Beautifully crafted . A great read and a must for anyone entering the world of commodities Exceptional insight into a fascinating business .

as a gift to new commodity traders/ managers.

Great follow up to the original!