# Africa Commodity Prices (`malmon/africa-commodity-prices`) Actor Monthly prices for 70+ commodities from the World Bank Pink Sheet enriched with African trade context — relevance tier, YoY/MoM change, and trade profiles showing top exporters/importers and Africa's world trade share for 15 key commodities including cocoa, gold, crude oil, coffee, and copper. - **URL**: https://apify.com/malmon/africa-commodity-prices.md - **Developed by:** [Simon M](https://apify.com/malmon) (community) - **Categories:** Agents, Developer tools, News - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.20 / latest commodity snapshot This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Africa Commodity Prices — World Bank Pink Sheet Monthly commodity prices for 70 commodities (January 1960 – present) from the **World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet)** — the most widely cited global commodity price reference. Every record is annotated with an **Africa-relevance tier**, a **trade-flow profile** (top exporters/importers by world share), a **year-on-year price change**, and a **dependence-weighted terms-of-trade impact** — i.e. how each price move actually hits the economies that export the commodity (`exportImpactPct = YoY% × the commodity's share of the country's exports`). This makes the data immediately useful for African economic research, procurement analysis, and investment screening. Pass a `country` code to see just that economy's commodity-export exposure. --- ### Data source & licence | Source | Coverage | Licence | |--------|----------|---------| | [World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet)](https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/commodity-markets) | 71 commodities, Jan 1960–present, monthly | **CC BY 4.0** — The World Bank | **Attribution requirement (CC BY 4.0):** Every output record carries `source.licenseNote` with the required attribution text. If you use this data in a product or publication, cite: *World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet).* Trade-flow profiles are derived from **UN Comtrade** (public API, annual data). Profiles are **year-matched**: a price row for, say, 2003-04 is enriched with **2003** trade flows, not a single fixed snapshot. See [Trade enrichment](#trade-enrichment-coverage) for coverage. --- ### Modes #### `latest` (default) — $0.05 flat Returns one record per commodity for the **most recently published month** (~71 records). Updated monthly by the World Bank, typically in the first week of each month. #### `historical` — $0.008 per (commodity × month) record Returns all records in a date range. Full history (70 commodities × 797 months) is ~$446; filtering by `africaRelevanceFilter: ["high", "explicit"]` (31 commodities) reduces this to ~$197. --- ### Input | Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | `mode` | `"latest"` \| `"historical"` | `"latest"` | See above | | `dateFrom` | `YYYY-MM` | — | Start month (historical mode, required) | | `dateTo` | `YYYY-MM` | — | End month (historical mode, required). Earliest: `1960-01` | | `commodities` | string[] | all 71 | Filter to specific commodity codes, e.g. `["COCOA", "GOLD"]` | | `africaRelevanceFilter` | string[] | all | Filter by tier: `explicit`, `high`, `medium`, `low` | | `country` | string (ISO-2/3) | — | **Export-exposure filter.** When set, returns only the commodity that country depends on (its curated primary export), with `exportDependence` highlighting it. Resolves for the ~10 countries in the export-dependence table (e.g. `CI`→cocoa, `ZM`→copper, `NG`→crude). | | `maxItems` | integer | 10000 | Hard cap on output records | --- ### Output fields | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `id` | string | `"COMMODITYCODE:YYYY-MM"` | | `commodityCode` | string | Normalised slug: `COCOA`, `GOLD`, `CRUDE_OIL_BRENT`, etc. | | `commodityName` | string | Exact Pink Sheet name | | `period` | string | `"YYYY-MM"` | | `price` | number \| null | Nominal USD price. Null if not published for that month — record is still included, check `warnings` | | `unit` | string | `$/kg`, `$/mt`, `$/bbl`, `$/mmbtu`, `$/troy oz`, etc. | | `changeYoyPct` | number \| null | Year-on-year price change %, vs ~12 months earlier (nearest within ±1mo). Null when no prior point exists. | | `africaRelevance` | string | `explicit` / `high` / `medium` / `low` | | `tradeProfile` | object \| null | Trade profile **for this row's year** (see sub-fields); null if the commodity is unmapped or no trade data exists for that year | | `tradeProfile.dataYear` | number | The Comtrade year the profile is built from (equals `tradeProfileYear`) | | `tradeProfile.topExporters` | CountryShare[] | Top global exporters (≤5) — ISO alpha-3, name, world share % | | `tradeProfile.topImporters` | CountryShare[] | Top global importers (≤5) — ISO alpha-3, name, world share % | | `tradeProfile.africaExportSharePct` | number \| null | Africa's combined share of world exports %; null if no African country in Comtrade data | | `tradeProfile.africaImportSharePct` | number \| null | Africa's combined share of world imports %; null if no African country in Comtrade data | | `tradeProfile.topAfricanExporters` | CountryShare[] | All African exporters ranked by world share — no length cap | | `tradeProfile.topAfricanImporters` | CountryShare[] | All African importers ranked by world share — no length cap | | `tradeProfileYear` | number \| null | Calendar year whose trade flows were applied, or null when no enrichment was available | | `exportDependence` | object[] | **Dependence-weighted terms-of-trade impact** — for each exporting economy: `countryIso3`, `countryName`, `dependencePct`, `basis`, `exportImpactPct` (= `changeYoyPct × dependencePct / 100`). Sorted most-adverse first. Empty when no exporters are known. | | `exportDependence[].basis` | string | `oec` = the commodity's **real** share of that country's total exports (OEC — accurate); `world-share` = **proxy** = the country's share of *world* exports of the commodity (indicative only — world-share ≠ true export dependence). Filter to `oec` for the rigorous figures. | | `source.name` | string | `"World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet)"` | | `source.url` | string | URL of the Excel file used for this run | | `source.retrievedAt` | ISO 8601 | When the actor fetched the data | | `source.licenseNote` | string | CC BY 4.0 attribution | | `warnings` | string[] | `"price_null"` (price absent in source); `"trade_profile_unavailable"` (mapped commodity, but no trade data for this row's year) | --- ### Trade enrichment coverage Trade-flow profiles are **year-matched** to each price row, derived from UN Comtrade (HS classification, annual). Because trade data is annual while prices are monthly, all twelve months of a year share that year's profile. | Price period | Enrichment | |---|---| | **1992 – 2024** | ✅ Year-matched profile (where Comtrade reports the commodity that year) | | **before 1992** | ❌ `tradeProfile: null`, `warnings: ["trade_profile_unavailable"]` — HS trade data does not exist that far back | | **after the last refreshed year** | ❌ null + `trade_profile_unavailable` until the profiles are refreshed | **30 of the 71 commodities are mapped** to an HS code and carry trade profiles — all `explicit` and `high` Africa-relevance commodities with a clean HS heading, plus nickel and rubber. The other ~41 (mostly low/medium-relevance, e.g. WTI crude, Malaysian timber, Mexican shrimp) have `tradeProfile: null` with **no** warning — enrichment was never offered for them. The profile never carries a different year's flows onto a row: if the exact year is missing, the field is null. This keeps the data faithful (no fabricated context). --- ### Africa relevance tiers | Tier | Count | Criteria | |------|-------|----------| | `explicit` | 4 | Named after an African location: Coal South African, Tea Mombasa, Logs Cameroon, Sawnwood Cameroon | | `high` | 27 | Africa is a major global producer/exporter, or it is a primary food-security staple for SSA | | `medium` | 26 | Some African trade significance | | `low` | 13 | Limited direct connection to African economies | **Key `high`-relevance commodities:** Cocoa, Coffee (Arabica/Robusta), Tea avg, Groundnuts, Palm oil, Maize, Sorghum, Rice, Wheat, Cotton, Tobacco, Phosphate, Copper, Gold, Platinum, Aluminum, Iron ore, Sugar world, Crude oil avg/Brent. --- ### Commodity codes Full list of all 71 commodity codes available in the actor. Use these in the `commodities` input filter. `CRUDE_OIL_AVG` · `CRUDE_OIL_BRENT` · `CRUDE_OIL_DUBAI` · `CRUDE_OIL_WTI` · `COAL_AUSTRALIAN` · `COAL_SOUTH_AFRICAN` · `NATURAL_GAS_US` · `NATURAL_GAS_EUROPE` · `LNG_JAPAN` · `COCOA` · `COFFEE_ARABICA` · `COFFEE_ROBUSTA` · `TEA_AVG` · `TEA_COLOMBO` · `TEA_KOLKATA` · `TEA_MOMBASA` · `COCONUT_OIL` · `GROUNDNUTS` · `FISH_MEAL` · `GROUNDNUT_OIL` · `PALM_OIL` · `PALM_KERNEL_OIL` · `SOYBEANS` · `SOYBEAN_OIL` · `SOYBEAN_MEAL` · `RAPESEED_OIL` · `SUNFLOWER_OIL` · `BARLEY` · `MAIZE` · `SORGHUM` · `RICE_THAI_5` · `RICE_THAI_25` · `RICE_THAI_A1` · `RICE_VIETNAM_5` · `WHEAT_SRW` · `WHEAT_HRW` · `BANANA_EUROPE` · `BANANA_US` · `ORANGE` · `BEEF` · `CHICKEN` · `LAMB` · `SHRIMPS_MEXICAN` · `SUGAR_EU` · `SUGAR_US` · `SUGAR_WORLD` · `TOBACCO` · `LOGS_CAMEROON` · `LOGS_MALAYSIAN` · `SAWNWOOD_CAMEROON` · `SAWNWOOD_MALAYSIAN` · `PLYWOOD` · `COTTON` · `RUBBER_TSR20` · `RUBBER_RSS3` · `PHOSPHATE` · `DAP` · `TSP` · `UREA` · `POTASSIUM_CHLORIDE` · `ALUMINUM` · `IRON_ORE` · `COPPER` · `LEAD` · `TIN` · `NICKEL` · `ZINC` · `GOLD` · `PLATINUM` · `SILVER` --- ### Notes - **Prices are nominal USD** — no real/inflation-adjusted series. - **Data is delayed**: the actor fetches the World Bank's published Excel file; there is typically a 1–5 day lag from the calendar month-end. - **Monthly cadence**: schedule this actor once per month, around the 5th (after the World Bank publishes the update). - **Trade profiles** are static (UN Comtrade, HS, 1992–2024) and bundled with the actor image; they are year-matched to each row but do not change per run. Refreshed ~annually via `scripts/refresh-trade-profiles.ts`. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): latest returns one record per commodity for the most recently published month. historical returns the full time series for a date range. ## `dateFrom` (type: `string`): Start month in YYYY-MM format. Required in historical mode. Earliest available: 1960-01. ## `dateTo` (type: `string`): End month in YYYY-MM format. Defaults to latest available month. ## `commodities` (type: `array`): Leave empty for all 71 commodities. Provide normalised codes like COCOA, GOLD, CRUDE_OIL_BRENT. Use africaRelevanceFilter for bulk relevance-based filtering. ## `africaRelevanceFilter` (type: `array`): Filter by relevance tier: explicit (named after Africa), high (major producer/food staple), medium, low. Leave empty for all. ## `country` (type: `string`): ISO-2 or ISO-3 code. When set, returns only the commodity that country depends on (its curated primary export), with exportDependence highlighting it. Resolves for the ~10 countries in the export-dependence table (e.g. CI→cocoa, ZM→copper, NG→crude). Leave empty for all commodities. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Hard cap on total output records. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "latest", "dateFrom": "2020-01", "dateTo": "2026-05", "commodities": [ "COCOA", "GOLD", "MAIZE", "CRUDE_OIL_BRENT" ], "africaRelevanceFilter": [ "explicit", "high" ], "country": "CI", "maxItems": 10000 } ```` # Actor output Schema ## `dataset` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("malmon/africa-commodity-prices").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("malmon/africa-commodity-prices").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{}' | apify call malmon/africa-commodity-prices --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=malmon/africa-commodity-prices", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Africa Commodity Prices", "description": "Monthly prices for 70+ commodities from the World Bank Pink Sheet enriched with African trade context — relevance tier, YoY/MoM change, and trade profiles showing top exporters/importers and Africa's world trade share for 15 key commodities including cocoa, gold, crude oil, coffee, and copper.", "version": "0.3", "x-build-id": "oWxZkKhZv0Sg4fz1e" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/malmon~africa-commodity-prices/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-malmon-africa-commodity-prices", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/malmon~africa-commodity-prices/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-malmon-africa-commodity-prices", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/malmon~africa-commodity-prices/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-malmon-africa-commodity-prices", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "mode" ], "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Data mode", "enum": [ "latest", "historical" ], "type": "string", "description": "latest returns one record per commodity for the most recently published month. historical returns the full time series for a date range.", "default": "latest" }, "dateFrom": { "title": "Date from (historical mode)", "pattern": "^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}$", "type": "string", "description": "Start month in YYYY-MM format. Required in historical mode. Earliest available: 1960-01." }, "dateTo": { "title": "Date to (historical mode)", "pattern": "^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}$", "type": "string", "description": "End month in YYYY-MM format. Defaults to latest available month." }, "commodities": { "title": "Commodity codes (optional filter)", "type": "array", "description": "Leave empty for all 71 commodities. Provide normalised codes like COCOA, GOLD, CRUDE_OIL_BRENT. Use africaRelevanceFilter for bulk relevance-based filtering.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "africaRelevanceFilter": { "title": "Africa relevance filter (optional)", "type": "array", "description": "Filter by relevance tier: explicit (named after Africa), high (major producer/food staple), medium, low. Leave empty for all.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "country": { "title": "Country export-exposure filter (optional)", "pattern": "^[A-Za-z]{2,3}$", "type": "string", "description": "ISO-2 or ISO-3 code. When set, returns only the commodity that country depends on (its curated primary export), with exportDependence highlighting it. Resolves for the ~10 countries in the export-dependence table (e.g. CI→cocoa, ZM→copper, NG→crude). Leave empty for all commodities." }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 100000, "type": "integer", "description": "Hard cap on total output records.", "default": 10000 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```