In physical sugar trading, market conditions change by the week. When we issue a Full Corporate Offer (FCO) or a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA), we hold an allocation and a price for a specific buyer. That commitment cannot stay open indefinitely, so every document we issue has a fixed validity.
The deadlines in our procedure
| Step | Deadline |
|---|---|
| FCO validity | 3 business days |
| Buyer signs and returns the SPA | 5 business days |
| Proforma invoice validity | 15 banking days |
| Draft payment guarantee after signing the SPA | 7 banking days |
If a document expires, the allocation returns to the market and the negotiation starts again.
What expiry really costs
- The agreed price. If the market moves up, the price held for you is gone.
- Time. Compliance, legal and logistics work has to be repeated, which adds weeks to the deal.
- Credibility. Mills and banks read speed as capacity. Lapsed documents suggest the buyer is not ready to execute.
Checklist before you request an FCO or SPA
- Bank ready. Your bank can issue the SBLC (MT760), the DLC (MT700) or MT799 blocked funds for one year, according to our procedure.
- Signatories available. The people who sign the SPA can do so within the validity period.
- Logistics defined. Discharge port, delivery schedule and quantities are final.
With these three points in place, we can sign, secure the allocation and move to loading. Read the full trading procedure or send your inquiry.
