Welcome to Proco Commodities’s quarterly newsletter discussing the latest trends and news within the commodities industry.
The future looks increasingly bright, with renewed interest in green initiatives and markets bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels. In this newsletter, you’ll find our latest insights regarding the commodities supply chain market and the results of market research that we’ve conducted over the last quarter. For discussion or queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Proco Commodities.
With a climate emergency afoot, businesses are eagerly shifting their practices all over the world. Whilst the global economy and supply chain has undoubtedly been heavily affected by COVID-related difficulties, 2020 saw more than $500 billion invested in infrastructure aimed towards the energy transition. Read all about it in our Global Energy Transition Report.
CONSULTANT SPOTLIGHT – Tim Thompson-Essex
Based in our Vancouver office, Tim develops the chemicals and biofuels market across the Americas at Proco Commodities.
Promoted to Business Director this year, Tim has been instrumental in building relationships with our clients in North America. Connect with Tim.
Poised for a Plant-Based Future
Diversifying into alternative proteins isn’t a fringe endeavour anymore. In fact, it might be a necessity for food and beverage companies.
The Rise of Dairy Alternatives in Plant-Based Protein
Alternative dairy options are still in their infancy stage. But this industry is seeing exponential growth.
A Period of Global Change
This last quarter, we’ve conducted research into a number of topics, like the future of the agricultural industry, new applications of technology in commodities, and the energy transition.
Business Diversification
Many sectors of business are undergoing changes to prepare themselves for a more versatile future. We’ve seen this specifically in the agricultural business, where there’s been a trend of small independent firms capitalizing on the growth of alternative proteins.
However, most believe that as the appetite for alternative products increases, it is most likely for large businesses to swallow smaller agricultural firms. There is a low likelihood that small firms will continue to grow or that the market expands and fractures.
In other realms of alternative proteins, the most common consensus is that lab-grown meat and dairy will grow the most, as well as insect protein. Though it’s unclear how long it’ll take before most consumers are ready for cricket biscuits!
New applications of tech
The role of technology in commodities is changing as well. It has far more potential applications than it used to. One that we researched this quarter was the use of digital tools in hiring for commodities firms. These are becoming more popular, but from the interviewee standpoint, they’re still relatively unpopular. However, when it comes to testing for certain technical skills, there are becoming increasingly common.
Energy transition
By far, one of the biggest conversations occurring in the commodities space currently is that of the energy transition. Many new arenas are thriving, but traditional renewable sources are still expected to grow now that several infrastructures to support them are in place. From our market research, most expect solar to grow the most over the next year, followed by biofuels and then wind.
