What we do
We source, store, sell, ship and distribute agricultural products including coffee, sugar, molasses, animal feed and pulses. We trade those products around the world, and with some, we process and brand them for industrial customers and the supermarket shelves.
We help many of our customers manage pricing risk through financial products. For others we act as a broker, executing orders for hedge funds and professional traders. And we do our own clearing through exchanges, such as the Chicago Board of Trade and the London Metals Exchange.
Why we do it
There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world – situations change; crops fail – but we’re known for making sure our customers can still do business. It’s a stance we’ve held to be true since 1783.
For us, it’s about managing risk and providing security. For example, we help our farmers grow better-quality crops, more sustainably, by teaching them agricultural techniques that will keep their land productive for future generations.
That way we can help our growers achieve a better, more sustainable standard of living. And we help protect our customers from that price-change volatility with tools such as hedging and futures.
How we do it
We do business across the world, but we’re small enough that business feels personal.
As group of companies, we use our diverse strengths to help our customers succeed – not just the people who buy from us; we think of our colleagues and suppliers as customers too.
Facts about ED&F Man
History
Birth of James Man
1755Born in Whitechapel, east London, and apprenticed to William Humphrey as a barrel maker, James Man went on to set up his own business as a sugar-broker.
Company founded
1783
James Man set up his own business as a barrel maker and sugar-broker at 23 Harp Lane, London. The cooperage side of the business soon disappeared.
Royal Navy rum contract
1784
James Man secured a contract to supply the Royal Navy with rum for the daily 'rum tot', a tradition under which all sailors were allocated a daily ration of rum. This tradition continued until 1970, with Man holding the contract for the full 186 years.
Moving into other commodities
1802
Man begins to trade coffee, cocoa and other commodities. Trades are conducted at candle auctions held in coffee houses.
Company moves to Mincing Lane
1810Mincing Lane was the hub of London's commodity trading centre, a couple of streets north of the docks on the river Thames.
Death of James Man
1823James Man retired in 1819 and moved to Dartmouth in Devon on the south coast of England. He died there in 1823.
CBOT founded
1848
The Chicago Board of Trade is set up as a cash market for grain. Forward or 'to arrive' contracts begin trading at the CBOT almost immediately.
KBOT established
1856The Kansas Board of Trade is established by local Kansas City merchants as a means of trading grain.
CBOT sets out formal trading rules
1865The Chicago Board of Trade brings in formal trading rules, particularly for margin and delivery procedures – an important step in the evolution of futures contracts.
Company changes name
1869
The company changes its name to ED&F Man, incorporating the initials of James Man's grandsons, Edward Desborough and Frederick, who took over the firm.
CBOT publishes futures prices
1877The Chicago Board of Trade begins publishing futures prices.
First coffee trades in New York
1882The Coffee Exchange in New York City trades its first coffee contracts. In the same year the New York Butter and Cheese Exchange is merged with other exchanges to form the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex).
ED&F Man's first female employee
1915Miss Sadie Braithwaite becomes the first female member of staff in ED&F Man. She served in the company for over 30 years.
Wall Street Crash
1929
The crash in 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression.
Comex founded
1933The Commodity Exchange is founded from the merger of the Metal Exchange, the Rubber Exchange of New York, the National Raw Silk Exchange and the New Hide Exchange.
Free trade in Europe
1960The European Free Trade Association is formed.
US government starts monthly COT reports
1962The US Agriculture Department's Commodities Exchange Authority publishes the first monthly commitments of traders report, replacing the annual reports that had previously been published.
The Royal Navy ends the rum tot
1970Times change – the Royal Navy discontinues its rum rations for sailors, so the contract with ED&F Man comes to an end after 186 years.
CFTC declares market emergency
1977The Commodity Futures Trading Commission declares a market emergency in the December coffee 'C' futures contract on the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange, resulting in an orderly reduction of the open interest in that contract. This is one of several emergencies in coffee futures during the late 1970s.
ED&F Man moves to Sugar Quay
1977ED&F Man moves its London headquarters to Sugar Quay, sitting right beside the river Thames.
Move into futures broking
1981ED&F Man moves into futures broking, setting up Anderson Man, which becomes ED&F Man International, and later Man Financial.
CSCE introduces options on sugar futures
1982The Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange introduces options on sugar futures. The first US exchange traded commodity option.
200 Years of ED&F Man
1983ED&F Man celebrates its 200th anniversary and diversifies into financial services and alternative investment management.
ED&F Man acquires SVG Molasses
1985
ED&F Man acquires Schuurmans & van Ginneken's molasses business.
ED&F Man launches 'BIBO' sugar ship
1986
ED&F Man launches the CHL Innovator, the first bulk white sugar vessel using the 'bulk in-bags out' system (BIBO).
Black Monday
1987On Monday October 19 1987 stock markets around the world crashed shedding a huge value in a short time. Beginning in Hong Kong, it spread to Europe and then the USA.
ED&F Man invests again
1989ED&F Man takes a 51 per cent stake in a London-based quantative investment manager, AHL. ED&F Man also acquires GNP Commodities in Chicago and cocoa trader Gill & Duffus.
Westway
1992
ED&F Man acquires Westway’s molasses trading, storage and liquid feed business.
Second BIBO launched
1992In the year that saw the Maastricht Treaty of the European Union, ED&F Man launches the second bulk white sugar vessel, the 'CHL Progressor'.
Move into metals
1993ED&F Man acquires Paine Webber metals in London.
Listing on the London Stock Exchange
19941994 saw the end of apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa's president. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was also created.
1994 was also a momentous year for Man, who listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Pioneer BIBO vessel
1996ED&F Man launches its latest BIBO ship: ‘Pioneer’.
New presence in Singapore
1996ED&F Man acquires Index Futures Group and Standard Chartered's brokerage operation.
Growing our molasses and feed businesses
1997
ED&F Man acquires Cargill’s international molasses, liquid feed and storage business.
ED&F Man's management buy-out
2000A management buy-out of the agricultural commodities business returns ED&F Man to a private, employee-owned company.
The company expands its animal feed business
2002
ED&F Man acquires Tate & Lyle's North American molasses, liquid feed and storage business.
Volcafe
2004
ED&F Man acquires Swiss based Volcafe, becoming one of the world's leading coffee merchants.
ED&F Man on the LME
2007
ED&F Man becomes the London Metal Exchange's first new floor trading member in more than 10 years.
Financial crisis
2008Lehman Brothers, a major investment bank and a future in the US financial sector for more than 150 years, files for the largest bankruptcy in US history.
The Dow Jones industrial average suffers the worst week of losses in its history, dropping by 22.1 per cent.
More focus on core commodities
2008ED&F Man stops trading cocoa and increases focus on the company's core commodities – sugar, coffee and molasses.
ED&F Man Capital Markets
January 2012 — 2012ED&F Man expands its brokerage division by forming ED&F Man Capital Markets.
Südzucker buys ED&F Man stake
2012
German sugar-producer Südzucker acquires an equity investment of 24.99 per cent in ED&F Man.
ED&F Man celebrates 230 years
2013True sustainability - 230 years of innovation and expertise.
ED&F Man acquires Mercatura and Feedimpex
2015
ED&F Man acquires two Netherlands-based companies: Mercatura trades raw materials for the animal feed industry, specialising in co-products from sugar, and Feedimpex has over 30 years' experience trading dried sugar-beet pulp.
ED&F Man acquires Royal Ingredients
2015
ED&F Man acquires Royal Ingredients, a successful specialty sugar processor and distributor.
ED&F Man sucessfully bids for Iansa
2015
ED&F Man acquires more shares in Chilean commodities company Empresas Iansa, resulting in approximately 92 per cent ownership of the company.
ED&F Man takes on remander of SIS
2015
ED&F Man acquires the remaining 49 per cent it did not already own in sugar company SIS ’88 from Kuok (Singapore), taking its ownership to 100 per cent.
ED&F Man acquires Maviga
2017
A global leader in the origination, processing and trading of dried edible pulses, seeds and speciality crops.
Contact us
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For all recruitment enquiries, visit our careers page.
Offices
Asia
Coffee – West Ryde
73 Ryedale Road
PO Box 231
West Ryde
NSW 1685
Australia
Tel: +61 (2) 9809 62 66
Coffee – Yunnan
The Crossway of Si Lan Road and Ban Shan Road
Simao District
Pu `er City, Simao
Yunnan 665000
China
Tel: +86 879 8246679
ED&F Man (Shanghai) Co., Ltd
Suite 1909-10A CITIC Pacific Plaza,
No. 1168 West Nanjing Road
Jing’an District, Shanghai
200041
China
Capital markets – Hong Kong
5613, 56/F, The Center,
99 Queen’s Road Central,
Central
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2170 6888
Coffee – Bangalore
Incubex, M2 Block, North Avenue, Level 13
Manyata Business Park, Outer Ring Road, Nagavara
Bangalore
Bengaluru 560045
India
Tel: +91 74 8380 1783
Coffee – Mangalore
First floor, Bridge Square
Bridge Road, Balmatta
Mangalore
575001
India
Tel: +91 82 4428 4767
Sugar – Mumbai
601, 275A/1/2, Malhotra Chambers
Govandi Station Road, Deonar, Govandi (East)
Mumbai
400 088
India
Tel: +91 22 6604 6500
Coffee – Kabupaten
Jl Pasar Melintang No 28
Desa Tanjung Selamat, Kecamatan Percut Sei Tuan
Kabupaten Deli Serdang
20371
Indonesia
Tel: +62 61 693 90 674
Coffee – Kobe
5F Create Kobe
80 Kyomachi, Chuo-ku
Kobe
Hyogo 650-0034
Japan
Tel: +81 78 392 5570
Coffee – Goroka
PO Box 138, Airport Road
Goroka, EHP
Papua New Guinea
Tel: +675 532 10 66
Molasses and feed – Manila
37C 37F
Rufino Pacific Tower
Makati City, Manila
6784 Ayala Avenue
Philippines
Tel: +632 811 1000
Molasses, feed and ethanol – Bacolod City
Rm B-6 WSC Building,
Locsin cor. Sebastian St.
Bacolod City
Philippines
Tel: +63 34 433 2606
Coffee, molasses and feed – Seoul
13th FL. Clover Tower
347 Seocho daero Seocho Gu
Seoul
Republic of Korea
Tel: +82 2 581 8833
Sugar and coffee – Singapore
27 Cantonment Road
Singapore 089745
Tel: +65 6922 6700
Sugar (rep office) – Bangkok
408/153 Phaholyothin Place Building
36th floor Phaholyothi Road
Phayathai Bangkok
10400
Thailand
Tel: +662 619 0242 5
Coffee – Ho Chi Minh City
195 Dien bien phu, Ward 15,
Binh Thanh District, HCMC
Ho Chi Minh City
Viet Nam
Tel: +84 613 520 003
Europe
Molasses and feed – Antwerp
Steenweg 3 – bus 402,
3540 Herk-de-Stad,
Belgium
Tel: +32 3 448 0978
Molasses and feed – Děčín
Masarykovo náměstí 3/3
Děčín I
40502
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 412 513 475
Sugar – Man Ingredients
Zvoleněves 86,
Zvoleněves 273 25
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 312 583 044
Coffee – Paris
27–29 Rue Chateaubriand
Paris
75008
France
Tel: + 33 1 4299 05 46
Coffee – Bremen
Schlachte 3–5
Bremen
28195
Germany
Tel: +49 (421) 33 97 33
Molasses and feed – Hamburg
ED&F Man Deutschland GmbH
Bernadottestr. 69, 22605 Hamburg
Office : +49 (0) 040 – 468 958 560
Molasses and feed
Mohács,
Budapesti országút, 31,
7700 Hungary
Hungary
Tel: +36 30 645 2554
Molasses and feed – Co Kildare
10 Lower Main Street
Kilcullen
Co Kildare
R56 PC91
Ireland
Tel: +353 (0) 45481070
Storage and blending – Dublin
South Bank Road
Ringsend
Dublin 4
D04 TC98
Ireland
Tel: +353 (0)16 685894
Coffee – Genoa
Via Byron 14/4
Genoa
16145
Italy
Tel: +39 (010) 099 65 30
Molasses and feed – Bologna
Torre 1 – Unita 12 – 7° Floor
Viale Aldo Moro 64, Fiera District
Bologna
40127
Italy
Tel: +39 051 277 011
Molasses and feed – Amsterdam
De Ruyterkade 6, 6th floor
Amsterdam
1013 AA
Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)20 7540111
Molasses and feed – Lisbon
Av Antonio Serpa
23-7 Andar
Lisbon
1050-026
Portugal
Tel: +35 (121) 780 1488
Sugar – Moscow
Office 520,
1 Vasilisy Kozhinoy street,
Moscow
121096
Russian Federation
Tel: +7 495 937 7744
Sugar, molasses and coffee – Madrid
Calle Sagasta 27
Madrid
28004
Spain
Tel: + 34 91 448 51 62
Coffee – Winterthur
Technoparkstrasse 7
Winterthur
8406
Switzerland
Tel: +41 (52) 264 94 94, +41 52 264 9456 (capital markets)
Sugar – Kiev
Creative States,
8 Moskovska str
Kyiv,
01029
Ukraine
Capital markets and sugar – London
3 London Bridge Street
London
SE1 9SG
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7089 8000
Molasses, feed and storage – Liverpool
info.mlpuk@edfman.com
Alexandra House
Regent Road, Liverpool
L20 1ES
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)151 944 3900
Americas
Capital markets – Campinas
Av José de Souza Campos, 507 – 9º andar
Cambuí, Campinas
SP – Brazil
13025–320
Brazil
Coffee – Santos
Rua Frei Gaspar 22
2°/3° andar
Santos – SP
CEP 11 010-090
Brazil
Tel: +55 (13) 32 13 92 00
Sugar – São Paulo
R. Surubim
577 – Cidade Monções, Conj. 41 e 42
São Paulo – SP
04571-050
Brazil
Tel: +55 (11) 2101 7300 (sugar), +55 (11) 5051 7970 (grains)
Molasses and feed – Quebec
6 Place Du Commerce
Suite 202
Brossard, Quebec
J4W 3J9
Canada
Tel: +1 450 465 1715
Sugar – IANSA – Santiago
Rosario Norte 615, piso 23
Las Condes
Santiago
Chile
Tel: +562 2571 5400
Coffee – Bogotà
Edificio Liberty Seguros
Calle 72 no. 10-07, Of. 1301
Santafé de Bogotà, DC
110311
Colombia
Tel: +57 (1) 313 7474
Coffee – San José
Carretera a Heredia, Del Puente Rio Virilla
50 metros a mano derecha
San José 1000
Costa Rica
Tel: + 506 2 261 60 60
Coffee – Guatemala
Diagonal 6, 13–27
Zona 10
Guatemala City
CA 01010
Guatemala
Tel: +502 2427 12 00
Coffee – San Pedro Sula
Ave New Orleans Frente al Instituto Tecnico Aleman
3 Avenida entre 28 y 29 calle, Barrio La Guardia
San Pedro Sula
Honduras
Tel: + 504 25 56 66 61
Molasses and feed – Guadalajara
Pablo Neruda 2886 3
Col Providencia 4ta Seccion
Guadalajara
Jalisco CP 44639
Mexico
Tel: +52 (33) 33 31 91 25
Sugar – Mexico City
Jose Vasconcelos No 105 Piso 9 oficina 902
Col Hipódromo Condesa, Del Cuauhtémoc
Ciudad de Mexico
CP 06170
Mexico
Tel: +52 55 52 79 0700
Coffee – Lima
Av Pedro Ruiz Gallo Lt 124C / 125A
Urb. Parcela Fundo la Estrella
Santa Clara, Ate, Lima
Peru
Tel: +51 1 356 44 54
Molasses and feed – Lima
Monte Rosa 255 piso 4 ofic. 309
Chacarilla del Estanque, Santiago de Surco
Lima
Peru
Tel: +51 (1) 625-9873
Capital Markets – Houston
2121 Sage Road, Suite 268
Houston
TX 77056, USA
United States
Capital markets – Chicago
440 South LaSalle Street
Suite 1850
Chicago
IL 60605
United States
Tel: +1-312-300-5000
Capital markets – New Jersey
160 White Road, Suite 202
Little Silver
New Jersey
NJ 07739
United States
Capital markets – New York
140 East 45th Street
42nd Floor
New York
NY 10017
United States
Tel: +1-212-618-2800
Coffee – New York
Volcafe Specialty USA
3 West Main Street
Irvington, New York
NY 10533
United States
Tel: +1-914 752 7706
Molasses and feed – New Orleans
365 Canal Street, Suite 2929
New Orleans
LA 70130
United States
Tel: +1-504-581-1620
Molasses and feed – Stockton
Stockton
CA 95203
United States
Molasses and feed – houston
300 93rd Street
Houston
Texas
77012
United States
Special Crops – Spokane
The Edge, 103 East Sprague
Suite 101
Spokane
Washington 99202, USA
United States
Tel: +1-212-618-2800
Sugar and capital markets – Miami
801 Brickell Avenue
Suite 1450
Miami
FL 33131
United States
Tel: +1-786-279-7320
Westway Feed Products – Baltimore
1075 Hull Street
Baltimore
MaryLand, MD 21230
United States
Tel: +1(410) 244-8649
Westway Feed Products – Clewiston
111 Ponce De Leon Ave
Clewiston
FL 33440, USA
United States
Westway Feed Products – Michigan
Carrolton
Michigan
United States
Westway Feed Products – Ohio
3335 Southside Avenue
Cincinnati
Ohio, OH 45204
United States
Tel: +1(513)921-8800×2
Westway Feed Products – St. Paul
2229 Childs Rd
St Paul
MN 55106, USA
United States
Westway Feed Products – Tomball
2001 Timberloch Place
Suite 400
The Woodlands
TX 77380
United States
Tel: +1-800-654-9668
Africa
Coffee (rep office) – Addis Ababa
PO Box 13310
Kirkos Sub-City, Wereda 01
House No. 062
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 00 51
Coffee – Nairobi
Denis Pritt Road
Opposite St. George’s High School
Nairobi 00100
Kenya
Tel: +254 70 58 58 777 (sugar), +254 20 27 15 051 (coffee)
Coffee – Moshi
Moshi Industrial Area
Viwanda Street
Moshi
Tanzania
Tel: +255 27 27 51 221
Coffee – Kampala
Kampala Industrial Business Park/Namanve
PO Box 3181
Kampala
Uganda
Tel: +256 312 265 251
Middle East
Capital markets – Dubai
Office 17–042
Level 17, Central Park (Commercial) Tower
Dubai International Financial Centre
PO Box 507074
United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971 4 279 8905