Thank you for Subscribing to Agri Business Review Weekly Brief
Judy Ganes, FounderFounded by Judy Ganes, a seasoned market analyst and former senior commodity analyst at a major financial institution, J. Ganes Consulting blends over 40 years of firsthand experience with a rare breadth of commodity coverage. While most analysts focus on a single market, Ganes has tracked individual markets and their often-overlooked interplay. From currency devaluation in China to climatic shifts in West Africa, her analysis connects technical detail with global context.
“I try to see the trees and the forest at the same time,” says Ganes. “My depth of experience allows me to see several steps ahead with clarity.”
That clarity is especially valuable in moments of uncertainty. When headlines spark confusion, whether it's a typhoon lashing at Vietnam or speculative chatter about a trucker’s strike in Brazil, clients turn to Ganes for level-headed interpretation.
As a fully independent consultancy, J. Ganes Consulting is not tied to trade desks or corporate agendas. Its analysis is grounded in data and historical perspective, not hype or positioning.
Field-Tested Intelligence with Measurable Impact
J. Ganes Consulting brings a comprehensive suite of subscription-based research reports, tailored to meet a wide range of client needs. Some are concise, providing quick market updates for fast decision-making. Others explore fundamentals in detail, ideal for clients who want to understand the underlying trends. New is the Ask Judy bot.
The firm also undertakes custom consulting projects and long-range, project-based studies. This includes supply chain risk assessments, weather-driven forecasts and feasibility studies to uncover pricing distortions, value gaps or strategic opportunities.
When the Ethiopian Coffee Exchange encountered persistent price discrepancies in how particular coffee grades were valued, Ganes was called in to uncover the cause. She combined interviews, data analysis and historical research to trace the issue and discovered that certain coffee grades were undervalued due to misaligned classifications. She delivered actionable recommendations to restructure the classification system, resulting in more accurate pricing and renewed trust across the exchange.
By visiting farms, speaking with agronomists and mapping supply chain dynamics, Ganes uncovers insights often missed from afar. This works in reverse too where the feedback loop helps farmers and exporters.
Keeping a pulse on supply chain concerns, Ganes identified a growing disconnect between the coffee samples buyers received and the actual shipments from one region in Indonesia. The issue eroded trust and impacted purchasing decisions.
A full-scale field study is being conducted across Indonesian coffee-growing regions to develop a tiered classification system that distinguishes quality levels more clearly. This approach will set realistic expectations, improve price transparency and allow exporters to better match products with buyer needs, ultimately driving even more interest in Indonesian coffee.
Building on this blend of fieldwork and data-driven analysis, Ganes is working on how her reports are accessed. She is developing an AI-based platform that ingests decades of her research and uses machine agents to assess market sentiment in real time. The system will scale her expertise into a digital companion.
She is equally committed to educating her clients. Ganes regularly teaches courses on futures and options, helping stakeholders manage risk more confidently. In presentations, she simplifies complex material without watering it down. Whether the audience includes traders, farmers or corporate planners, her message always remains accessible.
Her writing reflects the same discipline. Reports feature headlines that communicate conclusions. Graphs are labeled with insights and data. Even busy readers can understand the core message at a glance. That clarity and structure build trust and keep clients coming back.
Her upcoming book, Markets and Mud, carries that same clarity into storytelling. Drawing on years of teaching, traveling and translating the language of the markets, she weaves in vivid experiences from the road—being bitten, bombed, delayed, stranded and sometimes lost.
By delivering clear insight rooted in experience and objectivity, J. Ganes Consulting has become a trusted partner to clients seeking stability and foresight in unpredictable soft markets.
Why it is important to think about the future when it comes to commodities like coffee, cocoa and sugar
The prices of these things can change a lot and it is hard to know what is going on just by looking at what is happening now. Things like the weather, who is trading with who and what people want to buy're all connected and can make it hard to plan and figure out how much risk we are taking. The people who are in charge of buying these things need to be able to tell what is really going on in the market and what is just noise. This is important because it can help companies make decisions about when to buy or sell and how much to pay.
A lot of companies that give advice on the market just focus on one thing, like coffee or sugar. They also often just look at what's happening now and do not think about the bigger picture.. The people who buy these things need to know how everything is connected and how it can affect the price. Things like the price of money what crops people are growing how hard it is to ship things and the weather can all affect the market at the time. It is helpful to have someone who can understand all of these things and how they work together.
It is also important to think about what has happened in the past. The market for these things can be of like a cycle and what happened before can happen again.. A lot of people who buy and sell these things just look at what is happening now and do not think about what happened before. If we can understand what happened in the past we can make decisions about what to do now. The people who are in charge of buying these things should look for companies that can give them advice based on what has happened in the past. That can help them understand what is really going on in the market.
It is also important that the advice is easy to understand. Sometimes companies that give advice use language that's too hard to understand or they assume that everyone knows a lot about the market already.. The people who buy these things are not all experts and they need advice that they can understand. If the advice is clear and easy to understand it can help companies make decisions and work together more effectively.
Companies also need more than advice. They need help figuring out what to do and how to make decisions. They need companies that can give them advice and also help them think about scenarios and what might happen in the future. They need companies that can help them understand what is going on in the market and how to manage risk. This is especially important, for companies that are using kinds of investments to manage their risk.
J. Ganes Consulting is a company that can help with all of these things. They are independent. They give advice on a lot of different soft commodities. They are led by Judy Ganes. They use a method that is based on a lot of experience and observation of the market. They give their clients advice that is based on what has happened in the past and what is going on now and they also help them think about the future and how to manage risk. They are developing a platform that uses computers to help with analysis but they are not forgetting the importance of human judgment and understanding.
...Read more
Company
J. Ganes Consulting
Management
Judy Ganes, Founder
Description
J. Ganes Consulting offers unbiased analysis and strategic guidance across global soft commodities. Founded by industry expert Judy Ganes, the firm delivers research reports, forecasting and consulting services. Clients gain clear market direction, risk perspective and timely insights rooted in four decades of experience tracking coffee, cocoa, sugar, cotton, and FCOJ plus related markets.
