FOSFA International arbitration

Abstract

the Federation of Oils, Seeds and Fats Associations Limited, more succintly known as FOSFA International, is an international trade association which has developed over the years its own system of arbitration procedures for resolving disputes arising out of contracts for the trade in oilseeds, oils and fats and edible nuts. Whilst FOSFA International in its present format dates back only to 1971, it arose out of a merger of four other associations, the oldest dating back to 1863, each of which concerned itself with a specific part or parts of the seed, oil and fat business. Annual world production of oil bearing seeds and nuts is in the region of 180 million tons; total commercial production of oils and fats from these and other oil containing raw materials amounts to some 60 million tons. Oils and fats are essential to the human diet and provide a vital and in some cases major ingredient in a whole range of food products as well as having a variety of non-edible uses. Seeds and nuts may be processed in their country of origin or shipped across the world for processing elsewhere; similarly oils and fats, either in general terms, or of a particular type for specific end use, are shipped from areas of surplus to areas of deficit. These commodities are subject to frequent and sometimes violent price change. In addition to producers, processors, and consumers, the trade involves a variety of other participants: shippers, dealers, merchants, and others who together make up the international market. It is not uncommon for any one parcel of seed or oil to pass through a number of different hands on its way from origin to final point of consumption, nor is it unusual for the same company to buy and sell the same parcel more than …