Swiss Commodity Trade Associations Join Forces in Single Group
Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) — Switzerland’s $21 billion commodity- trading industry will be represented by a single lobby association as it comes under increased political scrutiny.
The Geneva Trade and Shipping Association, Zug Commodity Association and Lugano Commodity Trading Association are merging to form the Swiss Trade and Shipping Association, according to a statement posted today on the GTSA’s website.
The new association “will be able to more clearly communicate with and effectively engage Swiss authorities, NGOs and the media,” Stephane Graber, who will serve as secretary general of the STSA, said in a statement.
Commodity traders, including Vitol Group, Trafigura Beheer BV and Glencore Plc, have come under fire for what critics such as lobby group The Berne Declaration have called a lack of transparency and regulation for the more than 500 trading firms operating in Switzerland. The commodity industry accounts for about 3.5 percent of the Swiss economy and creates 10,000 to 12,000 jobs, the government said in a report last year.
David Fransen, director general of the Swiss unit of Vitol, the world’s largest oil trader, will be president of the new association. The STSA will be based in Geneva and its members will include about 150 commodity companies, banks and legal firms.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Hoffman in Geneva at ahoffman31@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net Dylan Griffiths, Alex Devine
