How to calculate the price of 1 Kilogram of each traded-commodity?

Question

1. What does the quoted price of each of the below commodities represent ? (eg: Gold price below = 1 ounce ; cooper = ...1 ton ?)
2. How can I convert the listed prices to show the price of 1 Kilogram of each?

I googled the contract amount for each commodity but I'm not sure if I took the right info, because it doesn't seem to make sense.

For example, the below shows wheat at $707, and it seems the contract volume is for 5000 bushels (27.2 kg for 1 bushel), implying a price / kg = $0.00519 , but I buy 1 kilogram wheat from local supermarket for one dollar. Why are these numbers so different?

Similarly corn at $670 for 5000 bushels (25.4 kg for 1 bushel) 1 kg = $0.005275, also seems very cheap, or soybean oil $66 for 60000 pounds (2721.5 kg) 1 kg = $0.0242, or cocoa $2481 for 10 metric tonnes (1 kg = $0.2481)

sugar $0.17 for 112000 pound (there is something illogical)

gold $1842 for 1 t ounce (1 kg = 592220.3 $) silver $27 for for 1 ounce (1 kg = 868.05$) platinum $1223 for 5 t ounces (1 kg = 7863.89 $) palladium $2890 for 10 t ounces (1 kg = 9291.35 $) cooper $4.68 for 1 ton ( 1 kg = 0.00468 $) aluminuim $2428 for 1 ton (1 kg = 2.428 $) nickel $17590 for 1 ton (1 kg = 17.59 $)

feeder cattle $150 for 50000 pounds (1 kg = 0.0066 $) live cattle $116 for 40000 pounds ( 1 kg = 0.00639 $) lean hog $110 for 40000 pounds ( 1 kg = 0.006 $) coffee

random length lumber $1540 for 1 ton ( 1 kg = 1.54 $)

oats $327 for 5000 bushels (14.5 kg for 1 bushel) 1 kg = 0.00451 $

cotton $0.82 for 50000 pound (22679.619kg) 1 kg = 0.0000361 $

Answer 1

The contract quotes are per unit, not per contract, and wheat is quoted in cents, not dollars. So when you see a futures quote of 707 for wheat, that's $7.07 per bushel, implying a per kg price of $0.33/kg.

Similar for other commodities - they are quoted per unit, not per contract, and may be in cents, not dollars (like corn).

The other aspects of commodities futures that 'Eh' brings up are valid (wholesale vs retail, cost of carry, etc.), but not the source of your price discrepancies.

Answer 2

"wheat $707 for 5000 bushels (27.2 kg for 1) 1 kg = 0.00519 $, but I buy 1 kilogram wheat from local supermarket for one dollar"

It seems you have a misunderstanding of what these prices represent: These are not customer-facing prices you could get yourself at a local store, these are bulk prices available in specific quantities and locations. They are used by bulk purchasers to determine what they will pay, exact calculations defined differently depending on the commodity.

For something like gold or silver, where transportation costs are relatively trivial (although security for distribution does add some), you can get pretty close to the theoretical spot price for gold with relative ease for just an oz or so. So, ~$1.8k for 1 oz of gold [or, 73k for 1kg of gold, considering 35 oz per kg], is close to what you could buy a small gold bar for, at a local distributor of such things [assuming you do not live in a country with specific controls that limit access to gold; above price for gold is US-centric, and supply of gold may be different in your area for legal reasons that increase cost other-than the cost to fly gold to a different country].

For something like Oil, you need to be at the actual spigot where the price is defined, with a tanker truck ready to accept it. That tanker needs to travel probably to storage / refining, then maybe to another storage, then maybe to your local gas station. Everyone needs to make money along the way, or else why would they be paying to move the oil around? So, you pay much higher than the listed price per barrel.

For wheat, that price is for raw unprocessed wheat, after which point it needs to be milled, and possibly bleached, etc., so the grain elevator, food manufacturer, grocery store distributor, and grocery store itself all need to be paid. As an example of where the comparison of the price of flour is more complicated than the price of a bushel of wheat, note that a bushel technically weighs 27.2 kg, but googling suggests that 1 bushel of unprocessed wheat produces only 17 kg of whole wheat flour.