Does traded product sell above or below the benchmark price?
Derived report snapshot · 2026-10-04 · Original report
For 19 of 38 commodities, the average export price implied by customs data (2024: world export value divided by world net weight) lands within 15% of the benchmark price for the same year. At the low end, manganese exports average 7% of its benchmark; at the high end, chicken averages 141%.
Unit value is a customs value at the border divided by the weight shipped, so it moves with the mix of grades, forms and destinations in a trade line. A benchmark is one grade at one place. When the two descriptions match, the ratio is a check on both numbers; when they do not, the ratio mostly measures the difference in product, which is why every row below carries the two descriptions and, where they visibly differ, a note drawn only from those descriptions. Only commodities whose benchmark is quoted per tonne or per kilogram are included: no density or grade conversion is invented for barrels, ounces or bushels. Click a heading to sort.
| Commodity | Customs line | Benchmark | Export unit value, per tonne | Benchmark, per tonne | Ratio | Why they may differ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manganese | 2602 Manganese ores and concentrates | Electrolytic manganese metal, CIF Northwest Europe | $147 | $2,098 | 0.07 | The line is ores and concentrates; the benchmark is electrolytic metal. |
| Lithium | 283691 Lithium carbonate | Lithium metal, 99% battery grade | $11,707 | $113,585 | 0.10 | The line is lithium carbonate; the benchmark is lithium metal. |
| Cobalt | 810520 Cobalt mattes, unwrought cobalt and powders | Cobalt, 99.8% minimum purity, LME spot | $6,560 | $26,327 | 0.25 | The line is mattes, unwrought cobalt and powders; the benchmark is 99.8% pure metal. |
| Copper | 2603 Copper ores and concentrates | LME cash, grade A cathode | $2,431 | $9,142 | 0.27 | The line is ores and concentrates; the benchmark is refined cathode. |
| Oranges | 080510 Oranges, fresh or dried | Mediterranean exporters, CIF France | $914 | $2,260 | 0.40 | The line is fresh or dried oranges from every exporter; the benchmark is a delivered (CIF) price in France. |
| Canola | 1205 Rape or colza seeds | Rapeseed oil, crude, FOB Rotterdam | $518 | $1,089 | 0.48 | The line is rapeseed; the benchmark is crude rapeseed oil. |
| Bananas | 0803 Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried | Central and South America, US import | $646 | $1,233 | 0.52 | The line is every exporter's bananas and plantains; the benchmark is a delivered price in the US market. |
| Zinc | 7901 Unwrought zinc | LME cash, special high grade | $1,455 | $2,776 | 0.52 | Same product on paper; the labels do not explain the gap. |
| Fishmeal | 2301 Flours, meals and pellets of meat or fish, unfit for human consumption | Any origin, 64-65% protein, CIF Hamburg | $1,024 | $1,699 | 0.60 | The line is meals of meat or fish unfit for human consumption; the benchmark is 64-65% protein fishmeal, CIF Hamburg. |
| Phosphate fertilizers | 3103 Mineral or chemical fertilizers, phosphatic | DAP, FOB US Gulf | $354 | $564 | 0.63 | The line is phosphatic fertilizers broadly; the benchmark is one product, DAP, FOB US Gulf. |
| Peanuts | 1202 Groundnuts, not roasted | Groundnuts, CIF Europe | $1,337 | $1,794 | 0.75 | The benchmark is a delivered (CIF) price in Europe; the line is groundnuts from every exporter. |
| Coffee | 090111 Coffee, not roasted, not decaffeinated (green coffee) | Arabica (ICE New York, other milds) | $4,363 | $5,621 | 0.78 | The line is all green coffee; the benchmark is arabica only. |
| Cocoa | 1801 Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted | Cocoa (ICE New York and London average) | $5,764 | $7,330 | 0.79 | Same product on paper; the labels do not explain the gap. |
| Beef | 0202 Meat of bovine animals, frozen | Australia/New Zealand, CIF US ports | $4,827 | $5,933 | 0.81 | The benchmark is Australian and New Zealand beef delivered to US ports; the line is all frozen bovine meat. |
| Palm kernel oil | 151321 Crude palm kernel and babassu oil | Malaysia, CIF Rotterdam | $1,257 | $1,412 | 0.89 | |
| Coal | 2701 Coal; briquettes and similar solid fuels made from coal | Australian thermal, Newcastle | $126 | $136 | 0.92 | |
| Tin | 8001 Unwrought tin | LME cash | $28,138 | $30,066 | 0.94 | |
| Coconut oil | 1513 Coconut, palm kernel and babassu oil | Philippines/Indonesia, CIF Rotterdam | $1,424 | $1,519 | 0.94 | |
| Sunflower oil | 1512 Sunflower-seed, safflower or cotton-seed oil | Sunflower oil, EU port | $1,036 | $1,060 | 0.98 | |
| Natural rubber | 4001 Natural rubber, balata, gutta-percha, in primary forms or plates | TSR20, SGX/SICOM | $1,714 | $1,753 | 0.98 | |
| Phosphate rock | 2510 Natural calcium phosphates and phosphatic chalk | Morocco, 70% BPL, FOB Casablanca | $152 | $153 | 1.00 | |
| Soybeans | 1201 Soya beans | US, CIF Rotterdam | $467 | $462 | 1.01 | |
| Potash | 3104 Mineral or chemical fertilizers, potassic | Potassium chloride, standard grade, FOB Vancouver | $299 | $295 | 1.01 | |
| Salmon | 030214 Fresh or chilled Atlantic salmon and Danube salmon | Salmon, farmed Norwegian export price | $8,898 | $8,775 | 1.01 | |
| Tobacco | 2401 Unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco refuse | US import unit value, unmanufactured | $5,996 | $5,899 | 1.02 | |
| Cotton | 5201 Cotton, not carded or combed | Cotlook A Index, CFR Far East | $1,953 | $1,911 | 1.02 | |
| Palm oil | 1511 Palm oil and its fractions | Malaysia, CIF Northwest Europe | $1,002 | $964 | 1.04 | |
| Aluminum | 7601 Unwrought aluminium | LME cash, high grade | $2,585 | $2,419 | 1.07 | |
| Urea | 310210 Urea, whether or not in aqueous solution | Urea, FOB Middle East | $364 | $338 | 1.08 | |
| Nickel | 7502 Unwrought nickel | LME cash | $18,113 | $16,814 | 1.08 | |
| Rice | 1006 Rice | Thai 5% broken, Bangkok FOB | $637 | $588 | 1.08 | |
| Wheat | 1001 Wheat and meslin | US hard red winter, Gulf export | $296 | $269 | 1.10 | |
| Lead | 7801 Unwrought lead | LME cash | $2,309 | $2,069 | 1.12 | |
| Lamb | 0204 Meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen | New Zealand, frozen carcass, wholesale London | $6,164 | $5,347 | 1.15 | The benchmark is New Zealand carcasses wholesale in London; the line is all sheep and goat meat. |
| Tea | 0902 Tea, whether or not flavoured | Average of three auctions | $3,701 | $3,042 | 1.22 | The line is all tea; the benchmark is an average of three auctions. |
| Corn | 1005 Maize (corn) | US No. 2 yellow, Gulf export | $254 | $191 | 1.33 | The benchmark is the US Gulf export price; the line covers every exporter's maize. |
| Sugar | 1701 Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose | World raw sugar (ISA daily price) | $607 | $450 | 1.35 | The line covers cane or beet sugar at any stage of refining; the benchmark is world raw sugar. |
| Chicken | 0207 Meat and edible offal of poultry, fresh, chilled or frozen | US Gulf ports, broiler cuts | $2,068 | $1,462 | 1.41 | The benchmark is US Gulf broiler cuts; the line is all poultry meat from every exporter. |
Rows close to 1.00 are the useful ones: where an HS line and a benchmark describe the same product, customs value per tonne and the benchmark agree to within a few percent, which is some evidence that the trade values and the price series are measuring the same thing. Zinc is the row to read with care: its two descriptions match, yet the ratio is 0.52, and nothing in the labels explains that, so treat it as an open data question rather than a finding. Compare with data reliability.
Trade: CEPII BACI, primary HS line, export flow, world totals for the latest year on file (2024; value in US dollars over net weight in tonnes). Prices: the primary benchmark series for each commodity (World Bank Pink Sheet or IMF), calendar-year mean of twelve monthly values, converted from per-kilogram to per-tonne where needed. Total export value of the 38 lines shown: $1066.6 billion.
Source snapshot and downloads
Recreated from Commodity Origins' published derived reports under CC BY 4.0. Report figures retain the publisher's definitions, coverage and reporting years. Selection of underlying commodity rows in our commodity explorer is separate and may have different coverage. Source notes above identify the upstream data; no publisher endorsement is implied.
Snapshot retrieved 2026-10-05. New source vintages require review and republication.