3564 Mintec DG8 user manual interactive

MINTEC DG8 USER 

HANDBOOK

Contents 

1

contents 

AN INTRODUCTION 

TO MINTEC DG8

For Mintec DG8 support: 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 

support@mintecglobal.com 

Mintec DG8 is a comprehensive decision support 

tool used in industry by a wide variety of 

businesses and organisations. 

Mintec DG8 provides a large amount of data and 

information which includes physical costs, futures and 

exchange rates, not only of specific constituents or 

ingredients, but also of relevant feed-stocks, precursors 

and competing applications. This data is complemented by 

a range of powerful analytical and modelling tools which 

can be used to support purchasing and pricing decisions 

whilst minimising risk. 

The aim of this handbook is to ensure that the user is 

familiar with operating Mintec DG8 and to give a brief 

insight into its potential uses. This handbook mirrors the 

objectives of the Introduction to Mintec DG8 course. 

Further help and information is available within 

Mintec DG8: 

> From any of Mintec DG8’s dialog windows there 

is a question mark in the top right hand corner of 

the window. 

> Click on this question mark to show context 

sensitive help for that window. 

Mintec DG8 Help is also available online at 

www.mintecglobal.com/help. You can search for the 

help topic at the initial and subsequent screens. 

E-learning tutorials are available online at 

www.mintecglobal.com/e-learning 


Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 08:00 – 18:00 

U.K. time or email support@mintecglobal.com 

A comprehensive range of Mintec DG8 Help sheets 

are also available. 

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THE MINTEC DG8 

USER INTERFACE


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Mintec DG8 has been designed to look 

and operate like most MS Windows 

applications. This makes many tasks 

identical to common MS Windows 

applications so the operation of Mintec 

DG8 should be intuitive because it 

behaves in the same way. 

Mintec DG8 contains historical data for 

thousands of different commodities. These are 

sorted into markets (eg Grains/Cereals) and 

categories (eg Wheat), but Mintec DG8 also has 

an extensive search capability to facilitate the 

finding of commodities. A single commodity is 

called a series (of data). Each of these series is 

labelled with a unique identification code and a 

short description. More detail on a series can 

be found in its specification. 

Most of the information in Mintec DG8 is shown 

graphically, from the simplest of line graphs to 

more complex analysis. 

Click on a number above for more information. 

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1 Display 

5 

Ribbon bar 

9 

Series 

A display contains a header and footer and one or more 

panels. The panels in turn may contain one or more 

graphs. It is the content of a display that is saved from 

Mintec DG8 as a .mdisp file (Mintec display file). There 

can be multiple displays. An asterisk beside the display 

title indicates that it has unsaved content. When saved, 

the display name will change to the saved file name. 

2 Panel 

The panel displays the Mintec DG8 data. There may be 

multiple panels in a display. Each panel is independent 

of other panels and has its own attributes of date, 

currency/unit and data frequency. The output from 

Mintec DG8 can be specified to be from a display or 

panel. The active panel is indicated by a red line box 

around it. 

3 Header 

Select the header text to edit it. The font properties of 

the header cannot be edited and it remains 

centrally aligned. 

4 Graph 

The content on a panel is described as a graph. It may 

contain one or more series as well as the output of 

any analysis. 

This contains the operations that can be performed on 

this display. Many of them can also be performed by right 

clicking on the object to be changed. 

6 Help 

From any of Mintec DG8’s dialog windows there is 

a question mark in the top right hand corner of 

the window. 

Click on this question mark to show context sensitive 

help for that window. You may also search the help at 

this screen. 

There are many keyboard shortcuts which you can see by 

hovering your mouse over the ribbon bar item. They are 

all listed in Appendix 1 at the back of this handbook. 

7 Y-axis 

The vertical scale shows the values of the panel, usually 

currency per unit. On adding a series of different 

currency/unit, DG will graph the new values on the Y-axis 

on the right of the panel. 

8 X-axis 

The horizontal scale displays the date range of the 

panel. With multiple panels these can be different. This is 

changed by formatting the panel properties (right click on 

the panel). 

The series is the line generated to 

display the single commodity data. 

Series code and Series description 

The series code is the Mintec DG8 unique internal 

identifier for a series. The series description is a short 

description of the series. The series code and description 

form the panel legend. The legend defaults to a position 

at the top left of a panel. This can be dragged to a new 

position on the panel. 

10 Panel 

The panel displays the Mintec DG8 data. There may be 

multiple panels in a display. Each panel is independent 

of other panels and has its own attributes of date, 

currency/unit and data frequency. The output from 

Mintec DG8 can be specified to be from a display or 

panel. The active panel is indicated by a red line box 

around it. 

11 Footer 

Select the footer text to edit it. The display creation date 

and time can be replaced with text of your choice, it 

remains left aligned. The Mintec copyright in the bottom 

right of the display remains right aligned. 

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THE MINTEC DG8 

USER HANDBOOK 

OBJECTIVES


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This user handbook is organised along the same lines as the 

Introduction to DG8 training course. 

There are five key modules, each with detailed step by step instructions to 

achieve the stated objectives. To test your understanding, each module is also 

accompanied by an exercise (see Appendix 3). 

The Mintec DG8 user handbook objectives are: 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

To create a 

presentation 

To create a 

monthly report 

To benchmark 

your data against 

the market data 

To prepare for 

negotiation 

meetings 

To create 

product models 

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GETTING STARTED 

You enter Mintec DG8 through a shortcut that starts the 

application and you may be asked to log on. Depending 

upon selections made when your Mintec DG8 system was 

installed you may need to: 

1 Supply a username and password 

Note: 

A user name is case insensitive whereas a user’s 

password is case sensitive. 

2 Register yourself in Datagain 

3 Do nothing, DG8 will log you on with your Windows 

log on details 

Your system administrator will tell you the technique that 

was chosen for your log on. 

Once successfully logged on, you will be directed to the 

Data tab showing a blank display. This is the area of the 

system where we can create graphs, customise them 

and if required, extract the pictures/results to produce 

a presentation. 

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CREATE A 

PRESENTATION 

To create a presentation analysing the data in Mintec 

DG8, we first need to select the raw materials that we 

wish to analyse. 

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SELECTING THE SERIES 

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To add a series to the display, click 

on the Add Series button on the left 

of the ribbon bar. 

Alternatively, click on the Add 

Series... link that is situated in the 

legend, in the top left of the display. 

The Add Series window opens defaulting to the All Series tab. 

There are several sections to this window that help you to select the most 

appropriate raw materials or commodities and to specify what the graph will 

look like. 

Click on a number above for more information. 

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1 Markets 

5 Frequency 

9 

Selecting data series 

The Markets section can be expanded by clicking on the 

arrow above the Markets text. 

Drill down into the Markets list by clicking on the arrow 

beside the market category. Related raw materials will 

be listed in the series section. 

Note: Any further searching will be from the point you 

have selected in the Markets section. 

2 Search 

Find a specific series by typing a full or partial search 

name or code. 

3 

Filter list 

Refine your search list by using the designated filters. 

4 

Options panel 

The following fields in the Options panel specify the 

parameters of the graph that is created when you click 

the OK button. 

Enables you to change the frequency of the data series. 

6 

Currency and Units 

These fields define the currency and units that the series 

will be displayed in. 

7 

Date Range 

The date range fields enable you to define the timescale 

of the graph. 

8 

Delivery Horizon 

There are many Futures markets all around the world; 

Delivery Horizon is the way that Mintec DG8 constructs 

a contiguous graph from the future contracts for 

that commodity. 

Before you can analyse series or markets, you need to 

select data series and graph them. Select one or more 

series that you would like to graph. Here are some ways 

of finding the series you want: 

• If you know it, simply type the series code in the filter 

search box, e.g. 6U04 

• Type a name (or partial name) into the search 

box to automatically show search results in the series 

table 

• Click Markets to open the navigation tree. Open the 

required markets and commodities to show the results 

in the series table 

If required, you can alter how the series appears on 

the x-axis and y-axis of the graph by changing the 

Frequency, Currency, Units and Date Range. 

Note: 

If you are not sure whether the series is 

correct and would like more detailed information, 

double click the series row to open the 

Properties window. 

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When you have finished selecting your series, click 

the OK button to show the series on the selected 

display tab. 

Search Example: 

You want to find all milling wheat series with a protein 

level of 13%. 

1 

2 

In the Market panel, select Grains/Cereals, 

 

Wheat, Milling 

In the Filter field, type 13% to display all series 

 

with a protein level of 13% 

Your display may look like this example, with a graph on 

a single display. We can develop this further, but having 

created our first graph it may be a good idea to save it 

for future use. 

Note: 

The protein level filter may only be specified in 

the specification, which you can view by doubleclicking 

the series. The specification is part of the 

series’ properties. 

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SAVING A DISPLAY 

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The graph created is displayed on a tabbed display 

called Display 1. 

To save a new graph (as an .mdisp file) to your local PC or 

network for the first time: 

There is an asterisk beside the 1, indicating that there is 

unsaved material on the tab. You can have multiple display 

files open at any one time. 

1 

From the Data or File tab, click the Save button to 

 

display the Save As window. (Alternatively click the 

Save button on the File tab.) 

You can save your graphs in Mintec display files (.mdisp), 

a DG8 format that allows the loading and editing of 

previously created graphs. 

2 Select a location to save the graph 

3 In File name, enter a name for the graph 

4 

Click the Save button to return to the Data 

 

tab window 

The name of the display that has been saved will change 

to the Filename of your graph. The saved .mdisp file can 

be opened, deleted or emailed just like any file output 

from an Office application. 

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OPENING A SAVED DISPLAY 

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Saved displays will be in the .mdisp format. 

1 

From the Data or File tab, click the Open Display 

 

button to display the File/Open window 

2 Browse to the location of the saved .mdisp file 

3 

In File name, select the name of the display to be 

 

opened, click Open 

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SAVING MULTIPLE DISPLAYS 

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There may be several displays open at the same time in 

DG8, so in order to save them all at once: 

1 From the Data tab, click the Save All button 

2 

For each display there will be a prompt to set the 

 

location and file name 

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DEVELOPING THE PRESENTATION 

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> Change the date range 

> Change the data frequency 

> Change the currency and units 

All the above properties of a panel are edited in the 

same place. 

Right click in a space on the required panel. Select 

Format to display this screen to make changes to these 

properties on the Axes tab. 

ADDING ADDITIONAL SERIES 

You may add multiple series to a display by repeating the 

selecting the series process described at the start of the 

Creating a Presentation section. If you select a different 

currency than that on the target panel, Mintec DG8 will 

graph the series but scale the new currency and units on 

the right Y axis. If both axes are occupied Mintec DG8 will 

inform that the new graph will be placed on a new panel. 

VIEWING GRAPHS ON SEPARATE PANELS 

If you have created multiple graphs on a single panel, 

you can place them onto their own individual panels 

by using the Burst button on the Layout area of the 

ribbon bar. 

The Unburst 

button reverses 

this process. 

There is a range of pre-defined panel layouts. These 

can be selected from Change Layout. You can alter 

the position of your graphs, simply by dragging and 

dropping them between the required panels. 

On this screen you can also edit the graph line thickness 

and colour as well as the properties for the legend. 

Note: 

Panels are independent of each other. Each 

panel may have different currencies, units and 

date range. 

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FURTHER DISPLAY CUSTOMISATION 

CUSTOMISE THE LEGEND 

The legend of a graph which contains the DG8 series 

code and an accompanying description, can be edited as 

part of the panel properties format. The text itself cannot 

be edited. However, it can be re-positioned by double 

clicking on the legend and dragging it to a new location, 

when the move cursor is showing. 

ADDING TEXT 

1 

2 

Click on Add Text Box from the text group on the 

 

ribbon bar 

A text box will appear on the active panel - this will 

be indicated with a red box around it, if you have 

multiple panels 

3 Double click in the text box and edit the text 

Hint: 

If you click near a text box you may try to 

drag a bit of the panel which will invoke the 

Zoom function. Press the Esc. key to return to 

normal scaling. 

The DG8 series code and 

description can be hidden and 

revealed in the Legend area of 

the ribbon. 

4 

Move the text box to your desired position, when 

 

the move cursor appears as the mouse icon nears 

the edge of the text box 

This can also be achieved via the panel properties 

1 Right click on a blank part of the panel 

2 Select Format 

3 Click on Legend in the left pane of the Graphing 

Display Properties box 

4 In the right panel, hide or show the Legend of 

Series Names 

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FURTHER DISPLAY CUSTOMISATION 

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An arrow is just a line that has 

endpoint attributes. 

ADDING LINES AND ARROWS 

1 

Click on Insert Line/Arrow from the text group on 

 

the ribbon bar - The new line will appear on the 

active panel 

4 

Click on Insert Line/Arrow from the text group on 

 

the ribbon bar - The new line will appear on the 

active panel 

2 

3 

Click on the line and grab one end of the line to 

 

rotate/pivot it 

Re-position the line into the required place whilst 

the move cursor is active 

5 Right click on the line and select Format 

6 

Select the Start Cap and End Cap attributes 

 

as required 

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CREATE A 

MONTHLY REPORT


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To create a monthly report you will need to 

organise your display files so that they are easily 

updated each month. Mintec DG8 will update the 

series on a graph in different ways - which we 

can specify on the File tab. Select Info. 

In the Properties section you can choose that 

your graphs are: 

1 Not updated (Fixed range) 

2 

3 

Updated upon loading, keeping the start date the 

 

same as when it was last saved. In this case more 

data is added to the series (Fixed start) 

Updated upon loading, but showing a rolling window 

 

of data. New data is added and old data is removed 

(Moving) 

Either option 2 or 3 will be required to make updated 

monthly reports. 

To update your monthly 

report: 

1 

2 

Select all the .mdisp files in the 

report and drop them onto your Mintec 

DG8 icon. Mintec DG8 will start up (you may need 

to log in) and all the .mdisp files will be opened on 

separate tabs 

Export all the displays which now have the latest 

 

data, by selecting Export – All Displays 

The process to follow in order to create a 

monthly report is a: 

1 

Create the graphs that you need to include within 

your monthly report 

2 Save the .mdisp display files into a single folder 

3 

Export the images in a .png format to a single folder 

 

that does not change location 

3 

Overwrite the original .png files. The pictures are 

 

linked into the monthly report so that when they 

are overwritten the new picture will appear in the 

monthly report 

4 

Create your monthly report in the application you 

 

require (e.g. Word or PowerPoint) and insert and 

link the pictures from the .png folder 

4 

Save the report as your master report and also as 

 

this month’s report. Break the links on this month’s 

report so that it will never change 

5 

Next month your master report will update again, 

 

save that as next month’s report and break 

the links 

6 Repeat this process every month going forward 

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BENCHMARK 

PERFORMANCE 

The difference between DG8’s market data and our own 

prices can be viewed in two ways. 

1. Export the data from Mintec DG8 into Excel 

2. Import your data into Mintec DG8 

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EXPORT DATA FROM DG8 INTO EXCEL 

You can view the data that make a graph in two ways. 

1 Hover your cursor over the series and you will 

see the date and the value at that date 

2 On the left of a panel you will see a red arrow 

that will allow you to change from a Chart view 

to a Data view. This can also be selected in the 

View group in the ribbon 

The data list can be copied from this list and pasted into 

Excel, alternatively you can export the data using the 

Export button in the Import/Export group in the ribbon. 

1 Click on Export 

2 Point to Selected Display 

3 Click on Data 

Note: 

We have restricted exportability for some series 

whilst we review our QC and data continuity 

criteria. The majority of data is exportable and 

we are working hard to make more of our data 

exportable. In the next section you will see how 

easy it is to put your own data into Mintec DG8 

which may be suitable alternative to exporting data. 

To check if your series is not exportable look at 

the series specification by double clicking on the 

series line in the Add Series window. If the series 

cannot currently be exported it will be noted 

under the specification. 

4 

Choose the location where you would like 

 

to export the Excel spread sheet 

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IMPORT YOUR OWN DATA INTO MINTEC DG8 

Importing data into Mintec DG8 is very easy. 

1 Arrange your data in an Excel spreadsheet into 

the same format as a Mintec DG8 Data List 

i.e. Column 1 displays dates 

Column 2 with their corresponding values 

2 Drag and drop your spreadsheet onto a Mintec 

DG8 display panel. Your data is read and placed 

into an Import Series panel 

3 In the User series panel, edit the Name field 

4 In the User series panel, specify the currency 

and weight unit of your data 

5 Add a specification for your own data 

6 Click OK to graph your series 

To be able to use this graph in the future, you will need 

to save it as a model. This will enable you to select it, 

as if it were a DG8 series. 

1 Right click on the imported series and select 

Save As Model 

Note: 

When searching for a Mintec DG8 series, you are 

communicating with Mintec’s data server in the 

Cloud, via an Internet connection. 

However, your data is confidential to you and 

your models are saved in a local database on 

your network. The security of your data is never 

compromised by sending them outside of your 

network. 

Your own series can now be graphed. They can 

be found in the Market tree structure under User 

Own. Alternatively, if you just enter a # in the 

search text all your own series will be listed. 

The same information is shown that we entered 

when our series was imported. 

2 Click OK 

The IMP 1 series code changes to a #Number, 

indicating that it has been saved. 

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MANAGING YOUR MODELS 

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This topic is explained in more detail, in the Product 

Models section, however you can edit the model that you 

have saved. 

1 Click on the Models tab 

2 Click on Model Management in the ribbon 

Your models are listed. 

Here you can add data to your series and specify groups 

of users who have access to your model, so you can 

restrict access to your data within your company. 

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BENCHMARKING 

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You can compare your prices for a raw material 

against a matching series in Mintec DG8, using the 

following methods. 

1 

2 

Exporting the data and making the comparison 

 

in Excel 

Graphing them together in Mintec DG8 and using 

 

the Difference function to graphically show the 

comparison 

Note: 

Now that your data is in Mintec DG8, all of the 

analytical tools are available to you to analyse 

your data. 

For example, you can see the percentage change 

over a period of time (indexing). You can also 

see if the price trend does the same thing each 

year (seasonality). Or combine your series into 

other models. This is a very powerful feature of 

Mintec DG8. 

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PREPARING FOR 

NEGOTIATION 

MEETINGS 

Thorough preparation is key to successful negotiation 

and Mintec DG8 offers a range of tools that may 

be used. The main tool is indexing which will show 

a percentage change since any point in time that 

you specify. 

Typically the start of a contract is the start of the 

index and we can see how the raw material price has 

changed over that contract term. We can use the series 

statistics to ascertain the average change over the 

contract period and compare that to the actual contract 

price. These can all be displayed graphically to present 

your negotiating stance in one place. 

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INDEX A RAW MATERIAL SERIES 

This technique can be applied to your own imported data. 

1 Graph the series that is the subject of 

your negotiation 

2 Click on the Analysis tab (you can also get to this 

point by right clicking on the series and point to 

Analysis in the menu) 

3 Click on Standard Calculations 

Place your mouse cursor over 

the end point of the index to see 

the value. 

In the example above we can see 

that over the last year German 

Wheat is at 81.06. This is the 

percentage since the start of the 

Index, i.e. a fall of nearly 19%. 

4 Click on Index The Create Model dialogue box is 

presented to enter the raw material to use (in the 

Series A box) and the start date of the index 

(Series value at Index date) 

5 Click OK and the resulting index is graphed in the 

same panel with the index scale on the right Y 

axis. You may want to Burst the graphs onto 

separate panels for clarity 

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AVERAGE PRICE OF A SERIES 

1 Click on the panel with the index to make it the 

active panel (this is indicated by a red box 

around it) 

2 Click on Statistics in the View group of the ribbon 

3 The average of the graph is shown with 

other statistics 

In this example the value is 91.8 or 

an average fall of approximately 8%. 

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PRESENTING YOUR NEGOTIATION POSITION 

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Bringing together these graphs and figures in 

a visual representation is an effective way to 

communicate your negotiating position. 

The Index can be on a separate display with a horizontal 

line showing the contract value, another horizontal line 

showing the average value over the contract period, 

therefore showing the difference and who has been 

benefitting from that difference. 

COPY A GRAPH FROM ONE PANEL TO ITS 

OWN DISPLAY 

1 

2 

3 

4 

Open a new display by clicking on the New 

Display button in the Display group of the ribbon 

At the original source display, click and hold the 

series (Index) that you want to copy 

Move the mouse to hover over the new display 

name and wait for it to open. When the new 

display is open move the mouse pointer down 

into the display 

Release the mouse button and the Index is 

copied into the new display. The attributes of the 

original panel remain unchanged 

ADDING A STRAIGHT LINE GRAPH TO A DISPLAY 

Contract value and Average price will be indicated with 

straight line graphs. As these are graphs, they have 

values and we can therefore use them in calculations. 

Assuming that you contracted 12 months ago, at EUR 180/ 

MT which is the equivalent of 92.78%. 

In order to place a line at the contract value, follow these 

quick and easy steps. 

1 Click on the Analysis tab 

2 Click on Standard Calculations 

3 Click on Budget/Target Price 

The Create Model panel will appear. 

4 

5 

6 

Enter the value of the contract price as 

constant α 

Repeat steps 1 – 4 to add the average price 

overthe contract period 

Add some descriptive text to complete 

the presentation 

Your resulting 

graph should 

be similar to 

this example. 

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THE EVENTS DATABASE 

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Gaining an understanding and reasoning for historical changes in the price of a raw 

material is possible using the Mintec DG8 Events Database. 

THE EVENTS TAB 

Show events 

Displays the events which explain some of the major 

price increases or decreases in the data you see on 

your graphs. 

Tick the Show Events checkbox to view each event as a 

dotted line, which will appear in the panel coinciding with 

the date of each event. 

Show only pinned 

Displays only events you have selected to remain on your 

panel. Click the Pin icon in the top right-hand corner of 

the events text box. 

Click and drag the event up and down the event line to 

choose a suitable display space that doesn’t hide the 

series on your panel. 

Untick the Show Events checkbox to remove all events 

from your panel. 

Events are added to Mintec DG8 with a priority: 

high, medium and low. Initially only high priority events 

are displayed. 

More 

Click More once to add medium priority events and click 

a second time to add low priority events to 

your panel. 

Less 

Click Less once to remove low priority events and click 

a second time to remove medium priority events from 

your panel. 

Events are categorised according to type and displayed 

events can be limited accordingly. 

General 

Tick the General checkbox to display events detailing 

political and economic factors. 

Commodity 

Tick the Commodity checkbox to display items that affect 

a particular market area. 

Weather 

Tick the Weather checkbox to display events concerning 

abnormal weather patterns. 

Note: 

You can add your own events to Mintec DG8 

using Events Management. 

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EVENTS MANAGEMENT 

You can add your own events to Mintec DG8 

and display them in exactly the same way as 

you would the events Mintec provides as part 

of the database. 

From the Events tab, click the Events Management button. 

The Event Management window will open. Click the Add 

New Item icon to begin adding your event details. 

The screen will expand and each section should be 

completed as required. You must complete the Date, 

Header, Text and at least one of the Series, Markets or 

Countries fields or you will not be able to save 

your event. 

Add the date for your event. 

This field is pre-filled with today’s date but it’s likely that 

your event happened before today. 

Click in the Date field and type a date for your event, 

maintaining the correct format. Or you can click the 

calendar icon to select the desired date. 

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Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


Click in the Header field and type a name for your event. 

Remember that you will want to display your event in 

Mintec DG8 so keep this short. 

Click in the URL field to add an external internet link. 

This is not compulsory, but can act as a source of further 

information about the event. 

Click the drop-down arrow in the Type of Event field and 

select whether the event is General, Commodity or 

Weather related. The default event type is General. 

Click in the Text field and add the text for your event. 

Consider how much information is required and how the 

event will be displayed on the panel. 

Now add your event to one or more series, markets and/ 

or countries. In each field you will be asked to prioritise 

your event. The default is Low, but you can select 

Medium or High. The priority determines when the event 

will be displayed on the screen. 

High – appears when Show Events checkbox is ticked 

Medium – click More to display high and medium priority 

Low – click More for a second time to display 

high, medium and low priority events 

Click the Add button on the Series field to open the 

series selection screen. Search for the series you wish to 

select and click the OK button to confirm your selection. 

Click the Add button on the Markets field to open the 

market selection tree. Open the market tree 

and select the category you wish to attach your 

event to. Ticking the higher level market checkboxes will 

automatically include all the categories and 

sub-categories. 

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Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 



SHARE EVENTS WITH OTHER USERS 

Depending how your Mintec DG8 service has been set-up 

you may be able to publish your events to other users or 

groups of users within your company. 

Click the Events Management button and in the Events 

Management window click the Publish tab. 

From the My Events list on the left of the window, click to 

highlight the event you wish to share. 

On the Publish tab, in the column called These roles do 

not have access to this event click the name of the group 

of users you wish to share the event with. Then click the 

Arrow button to move the group to the 

These roles do have access to this event column. 

Click the Add button on the Countries field to open 

the countries selection box. Select the country you wish 

to attach your event to. 

Note: 

The event will only be linked to Series where the 

country is specified in the series name. 

Once you’re happy with your selections click the Save 

button to save your changes and click the OK button 

to close the Events Management window. If you click 

the OK button without clicking Save first you will receive 

a prompt asking whether you wish to save 

your changes. 

Your own events will be displayed with a # in front of 

the date on your panel so they can be distinguished 

from Mintec events. 

EDIT EXISTING EVENTS 

Click the Events Management button in the My Events list 

on the left of the window and click to highlight the event 

you wish to edit. 

On the Event tab, click the Edit button 

all fields. 

to enable 

Edit the event as required and click the Save button 

to save your changes or the Cancel button to discard 

the changes. 

Click the OK button to close the Events 

Management window. 

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contents 

BUILDING PRODUCT 

MODELS


MINTEC DG8 – BLEND 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


There are two ways you can start creating a blend: 

1 

Pre-select the required series using the Data tab 

 

| Series Select dialog and display them on a panel. 

Click Crtl+A to select all the series or click the 

individual series to select just those required, then 

use the Blend operation to finish building the blend 

2 

Build your model step-by-step by adding series 

 

using the Blend function. This procedure is 

described next 

Note: 

When you add pre-selected series to the Blend 

window, Mintec DG8 distributes the blended 

ingredients equally to add up to 100%. 

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CREATING A BLEND USING PERCENTAGES 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


You can create a specific recipe for your finished 

items that uses a blend of ingredients as 

proportions, given as a percentage. For example, 

you want to blend three items in the proportion: 

25%, 40% and 35%. 

This procedure assumes you are building your model from 

scratch using the Blend dialog (see MintecDG8 – Blend: 

method 2), rather than preselecting your series using the 

Select Series dialog. 

1 Complete the fields in the Model Series panel 

The Model Series panel allows you to define the series 

you wish to create and select the appropriate series 

properties. 

Name: This will be defined by the Datagain database and 

cannot be changed. 

If you wish to subsequently save your blend as a model 

series to be used in other graphs, then Datagain will 

automatically assign a model number at that point. 

Description: Click in the field and type a short 

description of your blend 

Currency: Click in the field and select the currency 

you wish to use from the available options on the 

drop-down menu 

2 Complete the fields in the Show Results panel 

The Show Results panel allows you to define the display 

period on your panel and the panel in which you wish 

to display the results. The display period is the period 

shown on the time-axis. 

From: Select the start date for your panel 

To: Select the end date for your panel - this would 

normally be left as today 

Target Panel: The suggested panel will be highlighted, but 

you can select an alternative 

Unit: Click in the field and select the unit you wish to use 

from the available options on the drop-down menu 

Specification: Click in this field to optionally add a longer 

description or notes about your blend 

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CREATING A BLEND USING PERCENTAGES 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


3 

Hint: 

In the main Blend panel, in the Ingredients section 

 

click the Add drop-down, select Ingredient… to 

display the Series Selection window 

4 Select a series you want to include in the blend. 

To see more details on a series, double-click the 

series row to display the Properties window. 

7 

8 

To edit a series, click the series row and make the 

 

relevant changes 

To add ingredients for which there is no Mintec 

 

series, click the Add drop-down, select Bulking 

Agent. Add a value for your ingredients and allocate 

a percentage of your recipe. Although you won’t 

be able to see the bulking agent as a line on your 

graph, it will behave as a series with a constant 

value 

Note: 

Before you can save the blend, the total 

percentage for the blend must be less than 

or equal to 100%. If the total is not 100%, 

you can click the Rescale button to distribute 

the difference proportionally between the 

blended ingredients. 

9 

To show your blend on a graph, click the OK button 

 

or add further costs to your model 

5 To add the series to the blend, click the OK button 

Note: 

This series has a blend Percentage of 100 – this is 

because it’s the only series in your blend so far. The 

value 6 Continue to add the required series to your blend, 

does not change automatically, but you can 

amend following it as you the add above other steps. ingredients. Amend the Percentage 

mix as required by your blend. 

10 

In the Additional Costs section click the Add dropdown 

select Constant or Variable to add a variety of 

 

costs that you specify to your blend 

Constant: allows you to add a fixed cost to 

your model 

Variable: allows you to select further series. You 

must be able to graph these series in compatible 

units, so currently it is not possible to add energy or 

labour costs. 

To show your blend on a graph, click the OK button. 

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Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


CREATING A BLEND USING WEIGHT 

You can create a specific recipe for your finished items 

that uses a blend of ingredients as quantities, shown by 

weight. For example, you want to blend three items in 

proportion to their weight: 200kgs, 150kgs and 50kgs. 

Note: 

Mintec DG8 can only blend ingredients where the 

units are compatible. You cannot therefore, include 

supplementary costs, e.g. energy or transport, in 

your model at this stage. 

1 

Follow the earlier steps from Creating a basic blend 

 

using percentages, to select your ingredients 

2 In the Blend window make sure the Use Weights 

checkbox is selected 

3 

Click on each ingredient and bulking agent in turn 

 

and add the applicable weights 

4 To display your blend on the screen, click the 

OK button 

Note: 

The percentage Total box automatically recalculates 

as you add weights and always adds 

up to 100, which represents the total cost of the 

product. 

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Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


OPTIONS 

Not all series seem instantly suitable for using within a 

blend. An example of this could be because the data is 

seasonal and contains gaps. 

1 

Click the Options down arrow to activate the ability 

 

to fill data gaps 

1 In the Fill gaps in Series field, click the down arrow 

and select Simple Fill 

Simple Fill will draw a straight line between two 

data points: 

• Straight back to the currency/unit axis if your series 

does not begin at the start date of your panel 

• Straight forward from the last data point and up 

or down to the next data point if the series gap is 

between two dates 

A dotted line is used to fill the gap to indicate that this is 

not true data. 

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SAVING BLENDS 

Once your blend is displayed in your panel, you can save 

it in different ways depending on how you want to use it 

going forward. 

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SAVE AS A DISPLAY FILE 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


You can save your graph as a Mintec display file 

(.mdisp), a Mintec DG8 format that allows the 

loading and editing of previously created graphs. 

1 

From the Data or File tab, click the Save button to 

 

display the Save As window 

2 Select a location to save the graph 

3 In File name, enter a name for the graph 

4 

Click the Save button to return to the Data 

 

tab window 

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SAVING AS A MODEL 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


You can save your graph as a model. A model will 

be saved to the Mintec DG8 database locally and 

can be selected and used in the same way as 

any other series. 

1 

2 

3 

Right click on you your blend to select the series 

 

and from the pop-up menu select Save as Model 

OR 

Right click on you your blend to select the series, 

click on the Models tab and click the Save as Model 

button 

In the Save as Model screen, check the Model 

 

Series properties (name, currency, unit) and click 

the OK button 

The series code will change on the screen to a 

 

number that begins #. The # denotes a user created 

model and makes it easy to search for it again on 

the Add Series screen 

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MODIFYING 

YOUR BLEND


Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


Mintec DG8 allows you to modify your blend, for 

example, to add extra information to reflect your 

own business needs or amend the ingredients or 

proportions in your blend. 

You do not need to display your model to amend it, 

although it is often easier to record your changes and 

see them reflected on the display. 

Significant changes, e.g. a change in ingredients, can be 

recorded in the timeline and applied from a certain date 

(see Timeline). 

1 

2 

3 

4 

Click on the Models tab and click the Model 

Management button 

From the Available Models list, highlight the model 

 

you wish to amend and click the Edit item button 

to activate all of the fields 

To amend the Percentage or Weight of each 

 

blended ingredient, enter the amount in the 

Percentage or Weight field 

To remove ingredients from the blend, select the 

 

required row and then click the Close button in the 

top right-hand corner of the row 

Remember to amend the proportions of the 

remaining ingredients or select an additional 

series as a replacement. 

5 Click the Save button to save your changes or the 

Cancel button to discard them 

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TIMELINE


Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


Blends may change over time, for example, the 

ingredients may be switched with alternatives, 

or your fixed costs may change. 

These changes can be implemented as they occur and 

tracked via the timeline. The changes take effect from a 

date you specify and there is no limit to how often your 

model can be edited. 

1 Click on the Models tab and click the Model 

Management button 

2 

3 

From the Available Models list highlight the model 

 

you wish to amend and click the Edit item button to 

activate all of the fields 

Click the Timeline down arrow to activate 

 

the timeline 

4 Click the Add Version button 

5 

Click on the calendar icon and enter a start date 

 

from which your changes should take effect 

6 Modify your blend (see Modifying your blend) 

Note: 

Timeline becomes part of your model properties. 

Double-click on the series to view the properties, 

click the down arrow to activate the timeline and 

click on the timeline itself to view the changes at 

each time point. 

7 

Click the Save button to save your changes or the 

 

Cancel button to discard them 

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contents 

APPENDIX 1: 

SHORTCUTS IN 

MINTEC DG8


Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


GROUP ICON SHORTCUT RIBBON KEY TIP 

Data tab 

Display Add Series Ctrl + + Alt + D + D 

New Display Ctrl + N Alt + D + N 

Open Display Ctrl + O Alt + D + O 

Save Ctrl + S Alt + D + S 

Save As F12 Alt + D + A2 

Save All Shift+ Ctrl + S Alt + D + A1 

Close File Ctrl + F4 Alt + D + F 

Import no shortcut Alt + D + I 

From File no shortcut n/a 

From Data Source no shortcut n/a 

Export no shortcut Alt + D + E 

Export Display as Image no shortcut n/a 

Export Panel as Image no shortcut n/a 

Export Display data no shortcut n/a 

Export panel data no shortcut n/a 

Clipboard Cut Ctrl + X Alt + D + X 

Copy Ctrl + C Alt + D + C 

Paste Ctrl + V Alt + D + V 

Actions Remove Del, Delete Alt + D + R 

Properties Shift + Alt + P Alt + D + P 

Format N/A Alt + D + M 

Add Specification N/A Alt + D + AS 


Data tab 

View Chart Shift + F6 Alt + D + WC 

Data List Shift + F6 Alt + D + WD 

Statistics Shift + F6 Alt + D + WS 

Layout Change Layout Shift + F7 Alt + D + LC 

Burst Shift + F8 Alt + D + LB 

Unburst Shift + F9 Alt + D + LU 

Legend Show Legend Shift + F10 Alt + D + GL 

Show Series Names Ctrl + Shift + F10 Alt + D + GN 

Text Add Text Box Ctrl + T Alt + D + TT 

Zoom 

Models tab 

Insert Line/Arrow Ctrl + L Alt + D + TL 

Bring Forward Alt + Shift + S Alt + D + TF 

Send Backward Alt + Shift + Q Alt + D + TB 

Group Shift + Alt + Right Alt + D + TG 

Ungroup Shift + Alt + Left Alt + D + TU 

Zoom in 

mouse wheel up and Alt 

+ Shift + Up 

Alt + D + ZI 

Zoom Out 

mouse wheel down and 

Alt + Shift + Down 

Alt + D + ZO 

Zoom Reset Esc Alt + D + ZR 

Blend Alt + Shift + 1 Alt + M + B 

Save as Model Alt + Shift + 2 Alt + M + S 

Model 

Management 

Alt + Shift + 3 

Alt + M + M 

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Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 



Analysis tab 

Conversion Sum Alt + Ctrl + A Alt + A + AA 

Standard 

Subtract Alt + Ctrl + B Alt + A + AB 

Divide Alt + Ctrl + C Alt + A + AC 

Multiply Alt + Ctrl + D Alt + A + AD 

Averages - 

Seasonality 

Alt + Ctrl + E Alt + A + V 

Analysis Moving Averages Ctrl + E + 1 Alt + E + E 

Advanced 

Analysis 

Historical Averages Alt + Ctrl + G Alt + A + V 

Seasonal Averages Alt + Ctrl + H Alt + A + V 

Add Fixed Cost Alt + Ctrl + I Alt + A + S 

Add Variable Cost Alt + Ctrl + J Alt + A + S 

Budget/Target price Alt + Ctrl + K Alt + A + S 

Markup Alt + Ctrl + L Alt + A + S 

Mix series unit cost Alt + Ctrl + M Alt + A + S 

Trend Alt + Ctrl + O Alt + A + S 

Yield Alt + Ctrl + P Alt + A + S 

Ratio Alt + Ctrl + Q Alt + A + S 

Index Alt + Ctrl + R Alt + A + S 

Cumulation Alt + Ctrl + S Alt + A + D 

Correlation Alt + Ctrl + T Alt + A + D 


Events tab 

Options Show Events Ctrl + E + 1 Alt + E + E 

Show Only pinned N/A Alt + E + P 

More N/A Alt + E + R 

Less N/A Alt + E + L 

General N/A Alt + E + G 

Commodity N/A Alt + E + C 

Weather N/A Alt + E + W 

Events Management Ctrl + E + 2 Alt + E + M 

Quick access toolbar 

Undo Ctrl + Z Alt + 1 

Redo Ctrl + Y Alt + 2 

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Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 



File tab 

File File menu No shortcut Alt + F 

Info 

No shortcut in 

file menu 

Alt + F + I 

New Disply 


file menu 

Alt + F + N 

Open Display 


file menu 

Alt + F + O 

Save 


file menu 

Alt + F + S 

Save As 


file menu 

Alt + F + A 

Close Alt + F4 Alt + F + C 

Print Ctrl + P Alt + F + P 

Account 

Options 

Options > Manage 

Accounts 

Options > Manage 

Roles 

Options > Application 

Settings 


file menu 


file menu 

N/A 

N/A 

N/A 

Alt + F + D 

Alt + F + T 

N/A 

N/A 

N/A 

Data Updates N/A Alt + F + U 


Others 

Help F1 N/A 

Turns key tips on or 

off 

F10 or Alt 

Duplicate Model Ctrl + D N/A 

Select All - All lines Ctrl + A N/A 

Show/ Hide Ribbon Ctrl + F1 N/A 

Maximise/restore 

Application window 

Ctrl + F10 

F10 or Alt 

N/A 

Close Dialog Alt + F4 N/A 

Close Application Alt + F4 N/A 

Clear filters in Series 

Selection dialog 

Alt + Shift + L N/A 

Clear the filter Backspace N/A 

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APPENDIX 2: 

MARKET 

CONCEPTS AND 

UNDERSTANDING 

To gain the most benefit from Mintec DG8, there 

are certain concepts to bear in mind. The following 

pages describe some of these concepts and suggest 

techniques that you can use to optimise your decisions. 

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DATA PATTERNS 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


PEAKS AND TROUGHS 

Commodities tend not to break certain levels; if a market 

decreases so much that it becomes unprofitable to sell, 

then people cease to trade. This works in much the same 

way as when the market reaches a maximum – either 

the buyer will not buy or the potential is realised by 

another manufacturer who will profit from the economic 

situation. Futures and physicals markets react together 

most of the time and these should both be monitored. 

CYCLES 

Raw material markets tend to be cyclical – from as short 

a period as a season, to as long a period as a decade or 

more. The value that history provides is that it alerts the 

user to where potential peaks and troughs could occur. 

Remember that when a market is at a very low point 

historically, the chances are that the market will increase 

rather than decrease. 

TRENDS 

Trends in markets can be highly varied, from short-term 

speculative movements to long-term supply and demand 

driven situations. Always try to build the complete 

commodity picture before making your decisions. Factors 

to consider: supply and demand, feedstock materials, 

competing varieties and current market position. 

HISTORY 

Historical information allows us to determine whether 

there is potential for a price increase or for price 

decrease. We normally recommend starting with a long 

history to identify the current level of the market, as 

short-term views are often misleading. The scale can 

always be shortened later. 

FREQUENCY OF DATA 

Depending upon the raw material and the method of 

purchasing, differing frequencies are often required. If 

you are trading or waiting for the perfect opportunity 

to purchase, daily information is vital. However, if you 

are looking for a medium or long term overview, e.g. for 

a board or purchasing report, then weekly and monthly 

data are ideal. 

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USING RELATED SERIES 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


COMPETITION 

Raw material prices can vary greatly depending on 

where in the world they are manufactured. Choosing 

the material you wish to use also depends on whether 

it could be replaced by another raw material. In these 

circumstances using Difference within Mintec DG8 can 

be very beneficial. A standard example would be when 

comparing the price of coconut oil and palm kernel oil 

(substitutable), or the same products from different 

countries, e.g. chicken from Thailand or Netherlands. 

FEEDSTOCK LINK 

When looking at a market there are certain factors which 

you must be aware of, such as whether the product you 

are monitoring has been derived from another material, 

e.g. polyethylene from ethylene or kraftliner from 

paper pulp. Monitoring the feedstock will enable you to 

establish the lag in the market between feedstock and 

product so you’ll know when to expect price increases 

or reductions. 

PARENT/CHILD RELATIONSHIPS 

When looking at a product line it is advisable to take 

into account the origins of the product. If you were 

researching information on cocoa butter and cocoa 

powder for example, it would be advisable to research 

the cocoa bean market also. This would equally be as 

true for something like soybean, soyameal & soyaoil. 

DOMINANCE 

The dominance of a product is based on the sub-products 

that share the parent product, i.e. the valuable part. An 

good example of this would be soyameal and soyaoil. 

Soyameal is the cheaper product (animal feed markets); 

soyaoil is the expensive by-product (food industry). 

SUBSTITUTABILITY 

The selection of one product over another depends very 

much on the product’s substitutability within a market. 

For example, if you are packing a product you would want 

to closely compare the paper based market with the 

plastics market. This is just as relevant in other parts of 

the manufacturing process, e.g. different types of nuts in 

bakery mixes. 

GRADE/QUALITY/BASIS 

There are different grades of many products, e.g. feed 

wheat, biscuit wheat and bread wheat. Higher grade 

products trade at a premium, but it is important to 

monitor the other markets too, as they can often affect 

each other. For example, if the feed wheat market was 

to drop, there is a fair possibility that the other markets 

will also drop in time. 

PROCESSED MATERIALS 

A product that you assume to be driven by one market, 

may in fact be driven by another altogether. Often the 

primary ingredient of a product is not what initially you 

believe it to be. For example, the main driver of coffee 

creamer is palm oil and not the obvious dairy product. 

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CURRENCY INFLUENCE 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


CURRENCY CONVERSIONS 

For Mintec DG8 we monitor currencies at the source. For 

example, skimmed milk powder in Europe is quoted in 

Euros and maize in the United States is monitored in USD. 

As exchange rates fluctuate it is advisable to check that 

your supplier is passing on exchange rate benefits to you. 

MARKET COMPARISONS 

It is important to compare the same products from more 

than one source as if there is excessive availability in one 

country it may be cheaper to import the product, rather 

than buy it from the location closest to you. 

CURRENCY EFFECT 

Currency changes influence all commodity markets, 

regardless of whether you are buying directly from 

source and using a currency different to your own, or 

buying through an agent. Certain advantages can be 

obtained when the currency you are trading with is in a 

strong position relative to other currencies. With Mintec 

DG8, all series can be converted into any other currency 

or weight unit. Data contained within Mintec DG8 is 

usually quoted in the raw material’s currency of origin. 

COST HEDGING 

Hedging is a defensive measure enabling protection to be 

gained against adverse price movements. It is a means of 

reducing risk. A buyer who is exposed to risk in the cash 

(physicals) market which underlies the futures market, 

may use futures to minimise that risk. 

The relationship between cash (spot) prices and futures 

contract prices is such that they move up and down 

together, not £1 for £1, but approximately so. This fact 

enables hedgers to lessen the consequences of a loss in 

the cash market by adopting an offsetting position in the 

futures market. 

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MARKET CONSIDERATIONS 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


LOCATION OF MAIN MARKET 

It is important to know the best markets from which to 

purchase your raw materials and which marketplaces are 

the most influential for price movement. The following list 

describes the most important markets for some of the 

most commonly traded commodities and raw materials. 

FUTURES VS PHYSICALS 

Futures are the price that you will pay in the upcoming 

market, whereas Physicals is the price that you will pay 

for a commodity now. The purpose of monitoring this 

information is to enable you to keep track of the best 

time to buy your commodity, especially when looking at 

setting long term contracts. 

If the three-month position in the futures market is down, 

it can be taken that the Physicals market will probably 

follow this trend in three months’ time. (Traders would 

lose large amounts of money if this did not hold true). 

Beef 

Coffee Robusta 

Dairy 

Eggs 

Lamb 

Maize 

Milling Wheat 

Oils and Fats 

Paper Pulp 

Plastics 

Pork 

Poultry 

Rice 

Rubber 

Tuna 

South America, UK, EU 

London UK 

Domestic markets, New Zealand or country of manufacture (cheese) 

Domestic markets, Netherlands 

New Zealand 

France, South America, USA 

USA, Italy (Durum wheat), Canada, Domestic markets (Biscuit wheat), 

France, Germany, UK 

Rotterdam 

Scandinavia, USA 

Germany 

Denmark, Netherlands, UK 

Brazil, Netherlands, Thailand, UK 

Thailand, USA 

Malaysia 

Philippines, Thailand 

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MARKET CONSIDERATIONS 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


EXECUTION CAPABILITIES 

Theoretically you can analyse a market resulting in an 

advantageous strategy, but in reality this may be difficult 

to achieve. For example, when trading soya crush margins 

it would be possible to consider purchasing soyabean 

to make soyameal and sell soyaoil as a by-product. 

However, depending on your business interests, this is a 

difficult process that faces operational and organisational 

constraints, and is, therefore, probably not a serious 

option. 

Other problems can occur when you wish to contract 

forward for a long period of time but your supplier will 

not allow it, due to potential movements. 

LINKS TO LEGISLATION 

Common Agricultural Policy and export levies and refunds 

– some products carry massive imports levies, for 

example Argentinean beef. High import levies increase 

the cost of the product to a level competitive with home 

grown sources even though the product is relatively 

inexpensive. 

Export refunds are a Government refund given to enable 

a raw material to be sold in another country rather than 

the product being disposed of. 

COSTING E.G. CIF ROTTERDAM/UK DELIVERED 

When purchasing a raw material, factors that need to 

be taken into account are carriage, insurance and freight 

to the country it is to be delivered to. If a raw material 

is priced as FOB (this means that the product is free on 

board), the commodity has been priced before carriage, 

insurance and freight has been added. 

Other factors to consider are handling charges, 

processing, losses, financing and delivery. 

SECONDARY RELATIONSHIPS 

Often the product of one feedstock can be processed 

again to become another product. The primary feedstock 

will still be a factor for consideration, but the secondary 

product (essentially the feedstock for the third) will 

need to be considered too, e.g. Crude oil > Ethylene > 

Polyethylene. 

The time lag from stage one to stage three will be a lot 

greater than stage two to stage three. 

WEATHER 

The weather affects crops. When countries experience 

adverse weather conditions, crops can be delayed or 

even fail, thereby affecting the price for that product. 

Drought, frost, flooding, snow and hurricanes can all 

potentially destroy crops. 

MARKET SENTIMENT 

This is a situation affecting the market that is not 

quantifiable - there is no direct reason as to why it 

affects the market, but it still does. Potential examples 

are assassinations of leaders, war, volcanic eruptions and 

earthquakes. 

POLITICAL FACTORS 

Trade disputes can affect import and export duties 

making it impossible to purchase commodities from a 

particular country or area. Revolutions and civil war can 

affect trade infrastructure and elections can also result in 

market uncertainty. 

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FUNDAMENTALS 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


NEW CROP EFFECT 

Greater availability of a crop = lower price; lower 

availability of a product = higher price. 

IMPORTANCE IN ‘SINGLE’ MARKETS 

Certain items are not interchangeable, e.g. cocoa and 

coffee. These are specialist markets with no substitutes. 

GRAINS AND OILSEEDS 

There is a measure of interchangeability between 

products. Theoretically people may want alternative 

products; where there is limited growing space for a 

crop, for example, the farmer may change crop ratios to 

suit demands. 

STOCK RATIO 

This is a method that can be used to measure the 

difference between supply and demand. 

CROP DOMINANCE 

There are specific areas of the world that control certain 

markets, e.g. Brazil for coffee and Scandinavia for 

pulp. 

TRADE STATISTICS 

Checking that the supply is meeting demand, researching 

how much trading is going on between countries. If large 

import trades occur in a certain region such as China, 

India or Russia, this can have a dramatic effect on world 

stocks, thus affecting price. 

SUPPLY AND DEMAND 

If production and stocks are high, supply should be high 

and price should be low. However if production, stock and 

supply are low, cost should rise. 

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STATISTICS 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


BASIC STATISTICS (AVERAGE, STANDARD 

DEVIATION, HIGH, LOW) 

The statistics are indicators of what is happening in the 

market. Mintec DG8 shows the high and low points of the 

market for some raw materials, as well as the average 

market position over a selected time period. 

CORRELATION 

This is a guide to how close commodities can be in trend 

even though they may have no product relevance to 

each other. 

TREND ANALYSIS 

SEASONALITY 

Seasonality is normally expected in agricultural crops, 

however it is not just limited to these markets. It can also 

be seen in markets that are primarily run through supply 

and demand. The reason seasonality is useful is that it 

provides the user with a method of tracking many years 

of a market all on the same graph. From this several 

things can be determined: 

• Are crops harvested at the same time each year? 

• Is there a time period where it is beneficial to contract 

forward? 

• If a market is behaving in a certain way this year, does 

it relate to a previous year? 

This is an overview of what is happening over short, 

medium and long periods of time. Potentially looking at 

what is happening now and over the next few years. 

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APPLICATIONS 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


BLENDS AND MIXES 

Two or more separate series can be combined 

together to create a theoretical product or nontheoretical 

product. For example, mayonnaise or 

vegetable oil blends. 

BUYING PERFORMANCE 

As a buyer or seller it is possible to compare the 

company’s own prices against the market place and use 

the information to produce a benchmark. 

MONITOR SUPPLIERS 

If your suppliers provide you with quotes, why not 

compare these with the commodity markets? Use 

market reports as a guideline to prompt you to look 

into contracts. Feel free to use Mintec DG8 to produce 

purchasing reports and graphs to e-mail to suppliers; 

place them into Word or PowerPoint, in fact anything that 

will strengthen your market position. 

CALCULATED INFORMATION 

Data can be calculated based on the knowledge of the 

cost of processing, milling duty etc. to create a complete 

model to demonstrate the market. e.g. crush margins and 

UK ex-factory processed oils. 

These models are best constructed through the use 

of equations. 

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APPENDIX 3: 

EXERCISES 

To gain the most benefit from Mintec DG8 it is important 

to practice! 

These exercises are designed to guide you through the 

5 key objectives in our Introduction to DG8. 

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Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


EXERCISE 1: PRODUCE POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS 

TASKS 

BONUS TASKS 

Create a graph showing the price progress of Sunflower 

oil in Europe. 

1 

Place a suitable opaque background picture on one 

 

of your graphs 

1 Graph it in Euros/MT and show 2 years of data 

2 Place the specification of the commodity on 

the graph 

2 Make the line of the graph thicker so that it stands 

out against the background picture 

3 Write the latest value of the commodity on 

the graph 

4 

Remove the Datagain codes and descriptions and 

 

place a title at the top of the graph in a large font 

5 Create a PowerPoint presentation with the graph 

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EXERCISE 2: PRODUCE MONTHLY REPORTS 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


TASKS 

BONUS TASKS 

Create three graphs showing the price progress of 

commodities of your choice. 

1 Save them in a Windows folder 

2 Create a report for this month 

1 

Create a rolling PowerPoint screen show using the 

 

three graphs and show it changing for next month 

3 

Modify the graphs in Mintec DG8 with next month 

text on it and create a report for next month 

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Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


EXERCISE 3: BENCHMARK YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE 

TASKS 

For Orange Juice (ORJU) 

1 Export weekly data into Excel 

2 Leave a blank column between the date and the 

commodity list for a colleague to enter our pricesh 

BONUS TASKS 

1 For German Wheat, import our prices and graph 

the difference 

On average over the last two years are you getting 

closer to the market prices (of WHAG)? 

2 Save the graph as a model to be able to reload this 

own data in the future 

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Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


EXERCISE 4: PREPARE FOR NEGOTIATION MEETINGS 

TASKS 

BONUS TASKS 

1 

Create a graph of Orange Juice (ORJU) with 18 

 

months of data 

I know our supplier buys Orange Juice (frozen 

concentrate) in USD and we buy from them in Euros. 

2 Show the percentage change since 01 February 2015 

3 Place a line on the graph at the value of the average 

percentage over the last year 

1 

Show graphically the percentage difference 

 

between the commodity in the different currencies 

since 01 February 2015 and advise if our supplier is 

benefitting from that difference 

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EXERCISE 5: CONSTRUCT PRODUCT MODELS 

Telephone: +44 (0)1628 851313 

(08:00 – 18:00 U.K. time) 

or email 


TASKS 

BONUS TASKS 

1 

Create a model that shows a Trail Mix in Euro/kg 

 

made using the ingredients in the table 

1 

Show the percentage change of the mix over the 

 

last 12 months of the model and peanuts 

Ingredient Code Percentage 

Peanuts NPK2 43% 

Raisin XK28 28% 

Hazelnut 4P02 21% 

Coconut (desicated) NDC3 8% 

Are there any observations from this? 

2 

Add 100g LDPE packaging (PI35) to the model for 

each 1kg of Trail Mix 

3 Display the packed Trail Mix with the ingredients 

and LDPE in smaller windows on the same panel 

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Mintec Ltd 

9 The Courtyard, Glory Park 

Wooburn Green, High Wycombe 

Buckinghamshire HP10 0DG 

Tel: +44 (0)1628 851313 

Fax: +44 (0)1628 851321 

E-mail: marketing@mintecglobal.com 

Web: www.mintecglobal.com 

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