Commodity unit and price converter
Weight and price on one screen. Convert a quantity between every unit physical commodity contracts are actually written in, and restate the price on each basis so that two quotes on different units become comparable.
Quantity and price
Converted
A metric tonne is 1,000 kg, a short ton is 907.18474 kg and a long ton is 1,016.05 kg. Contracts that say only tons and never say which have cost traders real money.
Three different things are called a ton
A metric tonne is 1,000 kg. A US short ton is 2,000 pounds, or 907.18474 kg. A UK long ton is 2,240 pounds, or 1,016.05 kg. The spread between the smallest and the largest is 12 per cent, which is larger than the margin on most physical trades. A contract that says ton without saying which one is an argument waiting to happen, and the drafting convention that settles it is to write metric tonne or MT in full, every time.
Bag and drum conventions
Several trades quote in bags rather than weight. Coffee is quoted in 60 kg bags almost everywhere, except Colombia which uses 70 kg and some Central American origins which use 69 kg for export. Cocoa moves in 64 kg and 62.5 kg bags depending on origin. Spices, pulses and rice commonly use 25 kg and 50 kg bags. Essential oils, chemicals and used cooking oil move in drums of about 200 kg net, and in flexitanks or IBCs above that.
These are conventions, not standards. The bag weight that binds is the one in your contract. Where a contract quotes per bag, always restate it per tonne before comparing it to anything else.
Comparing quotes on different bases
A quote of USD 1.85 per pound and a quote of USD 4,050 per tonne look nothing alike and are within one per cent of each other. Coffee, cocoa, cotton and most exchange traded metals quote per pound in US markets and per tonne almost everywhere else, so the conversion is the first step in every comparison. Restate both on a per tonne basis, then check that the two quotes carry the same Incoterm before you conclude which is cheaper.
Questions
How many pounds are in a metric tonne?
A metric tonne is 1,000 kg, which is 2,204.62 pounds. A US short ton is 2,000 pounds, so a metric tonne is about 10.2 per cent heavier than a short ton.
How do I convert a price per pound to a price per tonne?
Multiply by 2,204.62. A price of USD 1.85 per pound is USD 4,078.55 per metric tonne.
How much does a coffee bag weigh?
Sixty kilograms is the standard international quoting unit. Colombia exports in 70 kg bags and several Central American origins use 69 kg, so always confirm the bag weight against the contract before converting.
What is a quintal?
One hundred kilograms in international use, and the unit many South Asian and Latin American domestic markets quote in. It is not the same as the historical hundredweight, which is 50.8 kg in the UK and 45.36 kg in the US.
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Price it with the desk
Once the units agree, the next question is the price. We quote physical cargoes and the hedges around them, prompt to long dated.