Agricultural Market Issues

Trade and Markets

Economic and Social Development Department

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Investments in Agriculture

Expert Meeting on International Investment in Agriculture, 30-31 July 2009, Rome, FAO headquarters

An Expert Meeting on International Investment in Agriculture was held on 30-31 July 2009 at FAO headquarters in Rome. Twenty experts actively interested in the recent trends in foreign investment in developing country agriculture, met informally to exchange information and review what is known and what is not known about recent investments, and to identify key issues and explore policy and legislation questions. The topics discussed included a review of recent trends in international investment, the record on FDI in developing country agriculture, evidence on recent investments, the “land grab” and its implications, alternative business models for investments, bridging the investment gap – investment needs and sources of capital, policy implications and the case for an international code of conduct. [ more... ]

Medium Term Projections

		OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2009-2018 This is the fifth time that the Agricultural Outlook report has been prepared jointly by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The report draws on the commodity, policy and country expertise of both Organisations in providing a longer-term assessment of future prospects in the major world agricultural commodity markets. [ more... ]

Environmental and social standards

Portal Page: Environmental and social certification for responsible agricultural production and trade

Certification in the value chain for fresh fruits: the example of banana industry

Value-adding standards in the North American food market

Private standards in the United States and European Union markets for fruit and vegetables

Technical regulations and standards for food exports: trust and the credence goods problem

The Japanese Market for Environmentally and Socially Certified Agricultural Products from Central America

Voluntary Standards and Certification for Environmentally and Socially Responsible Agricultural Production and Trade

Environmental and Social Standards, Certification and Labelling for Cash Crops

Organic agriculture

Organic Fruits and Vegetables

Manuals on certification for agricultural exports

ITC's Market News Service for organic products

Working Group on Environmentally and Socially Responsible Horticulture Production and Trade

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		Voluntary standards and certification for environmentally and socially responsible agricultural production and trade. Pascal Liu, Mikkel Andersen, Catherine Pazderka. FAO Commodities and Trade Technical Paper No. 5. This publication is a summary of the presentations and discussions that took place during the meeting on "Voluntary standards and certification for environmentally and socially responsible agricultural production and trade" organized by FAO in April 2004. It presents the situation of the main import markets for certified products and the evolution of demand. Case studies aimed at comparing sustainable farming methods with conventional methods are presented. These comparisons focus on production and cost, yield, price premium and net profit. The difficulties with which the producers are confronted are analysed and possible solutions to overcome them are explored. The publication also discusses the roles of non-governmental organizations, private stakeholders and other institutions involved in sustainable agriculture and explores possibilities for greater collaboration among them. [ more... ]

Certification and rules for export

		Manuals on Certification for agricultural exports These manuals explain the objectives, scope, advantages and constraints of a selection of voluntary private certification programmes (e.g. organic agriculture, "fair trade", GlobalGAP). They are designed for farmers and exporters. [ more... ]