The majority of developing countries are commodity dependent. Commodity-export-dependent developing countries (hereafter referred to as CDDCs) derive the bulk of their export earnings from primary commodities such as minerals, ores, metals, fuels, agricultural raw materials and food. Countries that have a high ratio of commodity imports to total merchandise trade are considered commodity-import-dependent. Both forms of commodity dependence may cause potentially harmful impacts and affect all dimensions of sustainable development. Most of the developing countries that depend on commodity exports and/or imports are characterized by low human development. The effects of commodity dependence on human development are mediated through numerous direct and indirect channels that link global commodity markets with domestic economic, social and human development conditions. Understanding these links and how they affect short-, medium- and long-term development objectives is important to inform policymaking processes. This issue of the Commodities and Development Report series, produced jointly by UNCTAD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), seeks to contribute to an understanding of the linkages between commodity markets and development outcomes by highlighting a number of transmission channels through which commodity prices impact an economy.