The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2009
High food prices and the food crisis – Experiences and lessons learned
The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2009 aims to bring to a wider public an accessible discussion of agricultural commodity market issues and policy matters. It seeks to provide an objective and straightforward treatment of economic issues for all those interested in agricultural commodity Market developments and their impact on developing countries. [ more... ]

30th Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Oilseeds, Oils and Fats, the 32nd Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Grains and the 43rd Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Rice
IMPORTANT NOTICEThe 30th Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Oilseeds, Oils and Fats, the 32nd Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Grains and the 43rd Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Rice, scheduled to be held in Santiago Chile on 20-22 July 2009 has been postponed to 4-6 November 2009 due to technical reasons. Please contact Rita.Ashton@fao.org for further information. [ more... ]

GIEWS July 2009 (No.3) Crop Prospects and Food Situation
Domestic food prices in developing countries mostly remain much higher than before the soaring food price crisis despite a sharp decline in international prices since their peaks in 2008 (see special feature inside). This situation continues to give rise to concern for the food security of low-income vulnerable populations who spend a large share of their incomes on food. [ more... ]

Giews Special Report, Namibia, July 09 is available now
The northern part of Namibia comprising the regions of Kunene North, Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Kavango and Caprivi experienced excessive rainfall between January and March 2009 which caused severe flooding particularly in low-lying areas as well as prolonged water logging on the uplands. [ more... ]

International Year of Natural Fibres 2009
The International Year of Natural Fibres 2009 was officially launched on 22 January 2009 at FAO in Rome. [ more... ]

WTO provisions in the context of responding to soaring food prices, by Ramesh Sharma and Panos Konandreas. FAO Commodity and Trade Policy Research Working Paper No. 25
This paper discusses certain WTO rules and provisions that have a bearing on response measures to the soaring world food prices. In doing so, it also reflects upon new rules that are being negotiated under the Doha Round. [ more... ]

Commodity Market Review 2007-2008
The biennial publication Commodity Market Review (CMR) analyses important agricultural commodity market developments likely to have significant implications for FAO member countries, both developed and developing. This issue of the Review is devoted to exploring in depth a variety of issues related to global agricultural commodity value chains. Value chains have become more complex as production and processing activities turn out to be increasingly fragmented. Moreover, concentration and the prospective of market power, as well as the emergent scope of food standards add to this complexity. [ more... ]

Madagascar - Rapport spécial - 20 août 2009