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The role:

The position is a full-time opportunity based in our Edinburgh office.

You will assist the trading team in day-to-day tasks under the direction of senior traders.

You will be asked to perform tasks in supply chain management, logistics and contract execution.

You don’t need to bring any specific experience to this role because we will train you on everything you need to know. You’ll always have support on hand, but we’ll also trust you to use your own initiative. It’s about learning new skills and using the ones you already have in order to make a positive impact.

We expect you will bring your best attitude to work as you will be doing a very important job – helping colleagues and customers. It is important to us that you are friendly, enjoy helping your team and are motivated. Plus, you’re comfortable with the idea of learning to use new information and tools.

Your daily duties and tasks will include, but not be limited to the following:

• Providing efficient and effective administration support
• Data input into internal systems, databases and spreadsheets
• Liaising with suppliers and customers
• Respond to customer enquiries and coordinate information between customers, warehouses, and other relevant departments
• Helping to source products
• Following up offers to selected clients
• Providing excellent customer service
• Assisting the trading team with relevant tasks

What we are looking for

Essential:

• The ability to use your own initiative and be proactive
• Thorough attention to detail
• The ability to organise and prioritise your own workload
• Happy to work in a team but also confident to work solo
• Be passionate, energetic and focused
• Flexible and have the ability to multi-task
• Good problem solver
• Competent Microsoft office user

Desirable:

• Previous commercial or customer service experience
• Minimum 2:2 degree (any discipline)

Who are we?

Freeworld Trading Ltd is an Edinburgh based commodity trading company specialising in the import and distribution of dried fruit, nuts and seeds. We work with a worldwide network of suppliers and source high quality material for the UK, European and global markets. We supply health food wholesalers, supermarket packers and industrial bakeries. Focusing on long term supplier and customer relationships we build transparency and trust to ensure the right supply chains are put in place and are built to last.

You can apply directly by sending an up to date CV along with a covering letter telling us why your skills and experience mean we should hire you. Our contact email is: minoo@freeworld-trading.co.uk and ishan@freeworld-trading.co.uk.

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Job title:          Quality Assurance Assistant

Reporting to:  Company Directors

Hours:              Full-time

Location:         Office based role in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Purpose of the position:

To work as part of the QC team to ensure daily management of the QMS and HACCP to ensure compliance.

To provide customer and supplier support and act as a point of contact with relation to quality control. To understand and evaluate the risks in the products, how they arise and how they can be controlled.

Key responsibilities & duties (but not limited to):

Customers – Respond to customer and supplier enquiries both over the phone and via email, complete questionnaires and other requested documents, handle customer complaints

Suppliers – supplier approval, maintain up-to-date database, obtain necessary information regarding practices and processes.

Samples – log in samples, send samples to lab, record lab results, chase samples

Specifications – issue new and updated specifications, maintain up-to-date specification database, agree specifications with suppliers

Academic or trade qualifications:

Required: A degree/background in Food Science

Desired: Minimum 3 years work experience in Food Industry. Sound knowledge of HACCP and GFSI standards

Work experience and skills:

Applicants with experience in food safety, quality assurance including HACCP, quality management systems and compliance. Good customer service experience preferred.

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May 2019 Shipments: 178.72 million lbs. Record number for May.   12.9% increase on May 2018. 

YTD shipment: 1.94 B lbs v 1.95 B lbs last crop year.

Crop receipts to date: 2.267 B lbs.   2018 Crop object forecast was 2.45 B lbs.

Commitments (almonds sold but not yet shipped,)  362 m lbs

Uncommitted inventory: 274 m lbs.

New sales for May:  108 m lbs

May 2019 shipments of 178  m lbs are a new record for California.  Total shipments + commitments are pointing to California close to being 90% sold for the 2018 crop. 

There has been strong demand during the month of May and with good demand still in the market, it is reasonable to say there will be a carry over of less than 350 m lbs into the 19 crop.

The subjective report estimated a crop of 2.5 B lbs although the general consensus from California is this is a little on the high side.  The 2019 Objective crop report will be released on the 3^rd of July and will provide a bit more clarity on the size of the coming crop.

New crop is currently trading at a good discount to current crop with California sitting just under 5% sold for new crop.  This is slightly ahead of where we were at the same point last year but historically this would be seen as undersold for this time of the year.

The transition between the crops is going to be very tough given the lack of inventory available, especially on carmel types and small cals along with a later than expected 19 crop harvest.

Our advice would be for buyer’s to cover their requirements for the next 4-5 months.

The post Almond report appeared first on Freeworld Trading.

Total shipments for April at 177mlbs, an increase of 0.3% over last April.

Year to date shipments up 1.6%.

Uncommitted inventory down 14.65%.  The industry is 86% sold on current crop.

China/HK/Vietnam down 33%.  The effect of ongoing trade talks between China and USA.

Indian up 8%.  Diwali demand will need to come from current crop.

California are well sold on current crop, (86%,) making it difficult to source small Cal varieties and carmel type grades.  Most of the inventories that remain are Non Pareils or large Cals.  Pricing on small cals and Carmels have remained steady for a number of weeks with Non Pareil prices slipping a couple of cents over the same period. Demand remains robust as indicated in forward commitment and spot stocks in Europe remain reasonably tight and in demand, especially on carmels types and small cals.

Last Friday saw the 2019 Subjective Estimate Report released at 2.50 Blbs, yield was forecast at 2140lbs per acre and bearing acreage at 1.17m acres.  This number is probably towards the lower end of expectation as talk before the number was anywhere between 2.50-2.63B lbs.

Before the figure was released last Friday, new crop was trading at a discount to current crop, around 30cents per lb on standards and 15 cents per lb on NPs.

Going forward we expect new crop to continue trading at a discount to current however we do not expect this differential to narrow (current coming down to meet new crop pricing,) for quite some time.  Current crop is well sold and with Diwali demand to come out of current crop we see a very difficult transition between crops.  Small Cals and Carmel types are already well sold and new crop supply is still a good 4-5 months away.

Our advice going forward is to cover needs up to September/October sooner rather than later.

The Objective Estimate will be released on the 3rd July.

2019 estimate

The post 2019 Almond estimate report appeared first on Freeworld Trading.

Currency

Headline rates at 10.13 GMT ( 12/11/2018 ) : EURUSD 1.1252 GBPUSD 1.2830 GBPEUR 1.1402

At the moment what we are seeing is a strong dollar effect plus a return of some Brexit uncertainty. The dollar strength relates to strong economic indicators ( the non farm payroll , GDP and spending figures ) from the US economy, we have indications from the FED that we may see three further rate hikes in the next year. The euro also has some weakness in the face of “spend and be damned “ Italian budget proposal and the inability ( perhaps ) of the ECB to control that. The increased Brexit uncertainty arises due to Remainer Jo Johnson’s resignation from the cabinet and splits in the Tory party from both pro Remain and Brexiteers. Uncertainty seems to be peaking. On the other hand, GBP is still at 1.14+ against the euro, economic indices are still holding up.

Cashews

At this time market Vietnam and India depend on Tanzanian imports. Previously market was weak due to sluggish demand ( demand saw a weak market and held off buying ) and consequent defaults ( Vietnamese processors found that prices contracted with traders of African cashew were unworkable against demand’s ideas ) on Tanzanian imports. Thursday, Friday and weekend there were some riots in Tanzania and the government declared that traders  were ripping off farmers by not bidding at the state auctions for raw cashew nut (RCN).  So we are at an impasse and the government is sacking relevant officials, and saying that it will buy the crop from the farmers. The problem is that storage conditions in small towns in Tanzania are very poor and processors must expect quality deterioration ( higher percentage broken, discoloured, insect damage )as well as high prices. Meanwhile Tet holiday looms and the least resistance path for small informal kernel processors is simply extend the holiday back and sit this one out. Shorts ( of which there seems to be plenty) will be caught and so we might enter the Vietnamese new crop march April on a rising market , never a good thing.  Time to cover if your sales are already committed !

michael@freeworld-trading.co.uk ishan@freeworld-trading.co.uk jonathan@freeworld-trading.co.uk

Brazils

Market seems to be fairly steady this week with most exporters finishing up for the season and gearing up for new crop.  Apart from a couple of the largest exporters who have some limited remaining stocks, there does not seem to be any indication of much carryover.  New crop pods are expected to fall during November as we are now in the season of heavy rains, and collection will begin in December.  Exporters feel in no rush to make any new crop sales and prefer to have some raw material in their hands. After 2 difficult years they prefer to be somewhat conservative.  For now there is no real base price for raw material with the collectors, I suspect going into December this will start to form.  A normal crop is 1200 fcl and so far everything looks normal, however as we found out,  in the short crop year of 2017, crop estimates have no credibility till at least March April and first volumes of inshells are safely collected and in Riberalta. No one knows, but we are prepared to have a guess!!

Ailsa@freeworld-trading.co.uk ishan@freeworld-trading.co.uk

Pecans

The damages to the crop in Georgia are still being assessed. Estimates are between 37.5-62.5 million lbs has been lost to rain and wind damage which equates to 30-50% of the Georgian hazel crop. Poor weather has also delayed collections in other states, at the moment harvests are running 2-3 weeks behind where they should be. In-shell material has only just begun to arrive at the shellers and pricing is still in a state of flux due to fact the percentage of halves compared to pieces, from cracking is still a big unknown.

We should have more clarity in the coming weeks

Adam@freeworld-trading.co.uk

Hazels

Hazelnuts

The TMO began their buying program on Friday 29th October and have bought around 4500mt of in-shell at 14 TL. This pricing agreement along with a strengthening lira has moved the market up around 20% since the beginning of August. Supply from farmers is enough to satisfy sluggish demand, manufacturers are not pushing material as they look to see if the lira can continue to make gains against both the USD and EUR. A great deal of unknowns remain in the hazelnut market; how much do the TMO intend to buy and will they continue to pay farmers promptly? What will happen to the value of the Lira? And importantly will farmers continue to only sell modest quantities in the hope of the higher market they were promised?

Even at today’s pricing levels hazelnuts remain one of the cheapest nuts for inclusions.

Adam@freeworld-trading.co.uk

Almonds ( see attached position report)

The October 2018 position report was released last Friday (09/11,) with the main numbers showing as follows –

Oct shipments were 247.11 M lbs. – 0.3% higher than last year.   This is a new record for Oct.

2018 crop receipts 1.554B lbs.  – +1.61% compared to last year.

Uncommitted Inventory – +17.89% compared to last year.

Total shipments 2018 v 2017: – 5.85%

The 2018 October shipment number of 247.11 m lbs has come as a bit of a surprise for the industry which was expecting anything between 7-10% less than last year.  Domestic demand was strong at +6.7% but exports were slightly off at -2.0%, (although the export figure is still the second largest Oct number.)

Crop receipts at 1.554 B lbs at this stage, had lead California to believe the total crop will be between 2.3-2.35 B lbs which is under the objective number of 2.45 B lbs.

With inventories in Europe very tight and with the release of this number we see a firmer market.  We would still expect to see California in the market, rather than withdrawn, but offering at higher levels.  There is still a good crop to move but the pressure has been released somewhat and buyer’s would be advised to address their needs sooner rather than later.

michael@freeworld-trading   ishan@freeworld-trading.co.uk

Walnuts ( see US position report in attachments “MMR OCT 18” )

The Californian walnut October 2018 shipment report was released last week which showed a decrease of 14% compared to last October.

Crop receipts are at 597,269 tons.

The numbers are no surprise for California who point to the later crop this year.  November shipments are therefore expected to be big and most packers have been unable to offer November shipments for a few weeks.

Prices have moved off the bottom and are 5-10 cents higher than 3-4 weeks ago.  Spot demand in Europe is strong as there is little 17 crop left and 18 crop hasn’t hit our shored yet.   Once the 18 crop arrives the pipeline should start to fill up and the market should settle down on spot.

Forward cover is sporadic.  Some buyers have taken the opinion of, “don’t look a gift house in the mouth,” and covered as far forward as they can (prices today are a good $1.00/lb cheaper than this time last year.)

Other buyers have continued to book hand to mouth as they are unsure of their forward commitments as well as global uncertainty.

We see a stable market going forward.

Michael@freeworld-trading.co.uk  ishan@freeworld-trading.co.uk  jonathan@freeworld-trading.co.uk

sales@freeworld-trading.co.uk is our general enquiry email

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Freeworld Trading has this week opened its European sales office based in the province of Malaga, Spain. This is the result of continued growth from Freeworld UK, a 27-year-old company. The sales office is headed up by Ailsa Perez, who has worked in the industry with us for 13 years.

Our European base further enhances our commitment to the market and all the ideals of co-operation and win/win thinking which lie at the heart of Freeworld.

Our product range will be the same as in Freeworld UK, servicing the industry with a wide range of conventional and organic dried fruit, nuts and seeds from our Rotterdam and Hamburg stockholding.

Trade is a peacetime activity, a building of bridges, an entwinement, a dialogue between cultures. At Freeworld we have pride in our image as a friendly young team, helping support our suppliers and helping our loyal customers navigate the tricky niche commodity markets. Our desire is to strengthen those ties and grow new ones where the opportunity arises.

Business will continue as usual. The new office is simply an extension of our existing business with European roots.

We are looking forward to the journey.

Contact details;

Ailsa Perez Ulecia

Freeworld Europa

Mobile/Whats App; 0034681280728

Skype ID; ailsa.turnbull

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The post Almond Industry Position Report appeared first on Freeworld Trading.

• July 2018 shipments at 143.8M down from last years figure of 153.9m
• Committed shipments at 170M, down 15.65%
• Uncommitted inventory at 192m, down 5.05%
• Forecast carryover is at 403.7m

Sales have been slow over the past few weeks which has seen the market weaken by $0.5-0.07/lb.  A combination of holiday season, trade wars causing global uncertainty, weak sterling and euro against the usd and with a “big,” crop on the horizon, buyers have been reluctant to put down forward contracts.

Going forward toady’s number is unlikely to awaken buyer’s who will feel they have a bit more time to wait.   On the other hand with little cover on the books forward buying will have to be done and there could be a time when we see a spike off the back of this demand.  For now all is quiet…

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