This book argues that the viability of many observed market and non-market interventions in agricultural products worldwide depends considerably on the underlying behaviour of the relevant commodity markets. Many of these policies have had distortive impacts, resulting in much discussion and controversy in the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of trade negotiations. Despite the long history of studies of commodity market behaviour, a number of issues remain unresolved. The authors review a wide range of these issues and provide a survey of current methodological and empirical research to increase our understanding of the nature of commodity markets. Price behaviour and the reliability of different prediction methods are examined and the particular implications for commodity dependent developing countries are also highlighted. This state-of-the-art survey of agricultural commodity market behaviour will prove to be of immense interest to researchers, students and academics in the fields of agricultural market analysis, development studies and economics. The book will also strongly appeal to policymakers in both agricultural trading countries and international agencies and to private commodity market analysts.

Drawing on insights from theoretical applications, empirically based approaches and case study experience, this book contributes to the improved design and use of trade and related policy interventions in staple food markets.Trade policy interventions have a potentially critical role to play in the development of staple food markets in developing countries and, as a source of revenue, in wider processes of rural development. Governments have long defended trade and related policy interventions in staple food markets on the basis of food security concerns. However, the design and implementation of these policies has often resulted in unintended impacts, increasing the risks faced by private sector actors and reducing their incentives for investment in improved market performance. In the context of increasingly volatile staple food markets, this book, commissioned from leading experts in this field, seeks to enhance dialogue between stakeholders involved in, and affected by, the design and use of trade and related policy interventions.This significant book will appeal to policy analysts and decision makers influential in the design and implementation of trade and related market interventions, as well as students of development economics. Researchers contributing to debates on the use and impacts of trade and related market interventions in staple food markets in poor countries will also find this volume of great benefit.

The objective of this book is to highlight and analyze several factors impinging on future agricultural trade developments. These factors include rapidly changing food demand patterns arising from economic growth and associated urbanisation; the level and nature of support and protection provided to agriculture in both developed and developing countries; the increasing prominence of technical regulations and private standards; the increasing levels of concentration in agricultural supply chains; and growing concerns regarding pressures on the scarce natural resources in light of climate change. The book seeks to improve the level of appreciation and understanding of these factors by collecting a series of contribution by academics and practitioners active in the field of agricultural trade and related policy. It sets the contexts for a discussion on trade policy intervention in the context of evolving structures, reviews evidence on trends in a number of the factors that will shape the evolution of global agricultural trade, and discusses how trade rules may need to be adapted to account for these evolving trends and to deal with the challenges.

The recent world food crisis highlighted the critical issue of global food security and the need to enhance global agricultural production capacity to meet current and future food demand. Increased investment in agriculture and adequate incentives to farmers are required to meet this global challenge. Developed countries provide support to farmers to increase farm income, reduce income variability, improve competitiveness of the agricultural sector, and provide for safe and quality food. Many farm support policies stimulate domestic production, but also create distortions in world markets, inducing disincentives in developing countries' agricultural production in the long run. These distortions have been the object of considerable debate within the World Trade Organization agreement on agriculture. This book provides a review of farm support in high income countries, and explores options for reshaping such farm support in a non-distortionary manner. It also addresses the responses needed in developing countries to ensure a long term and sustained faster growth in their agricultural sectors, enhanced food production, rising rural incomes, and lower poverty.