Abundant supplies and strong export competition kept international grain prices low, with quotations of wheat and maize in January averaging well below their year-earlier levels. International rice prices followed mixed trends depending on the origin. In Southern Africa, maize prices increased sharply in Malawi and South Africa, and also strengthened in Zambia, reaching record highs in all three countries in January. This mostly reflects expectations of a steep reduction of...

At the request of the Ecuadorian Government, FAO undertook a technical assistance to generate an integrated assessment climate impacts on the banana value chain in support of the Ecuador initiatives towards sustainable and climate-adapted strategies. Both biophysical and socio-economic analyses were carried out using a team of FAO and international experts. Evidence was generated on: (i) banana suitability under climate change in Ecuador and other banana producing countries; (ii) climate...

Given the significance of agriculture to rural livelihoods, agricultural trade has the potential to significantly impact rural employment and incomes. Agriculture is the largest employer of the world’s poor, most of whom live in rural areas. As developing economies grow, and undergo structural transformation, employment tends to shift away from agriculture into other sectors, such as industry or services. Along the path of structural transformation, agricultural trade can speed up...

This is the 2015 edition of the annual compilation of statistics related to the international production, trade, and processing into juice of citrus fruits with grower and wholesale prices. The fruits covered are oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes and grapefruit. The statistics are disaggregated by fruit, by year, by region and by country from 1981/2 to 2013/14.

This paper summarizes the good practices by nine selected OECD countries that seek to promote responsible foreign investment in developing country agriculture, primarily by investors in their territory or jurisdiction. The study provides examples of the increasing trend of home countries in establishing binding legal norms and other mechanisms as safeguards that are relevant for agricultural investment. It finds that States apply some specific provisions to hold private corporate actors...

This paper analyses foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in food, beverages and tobacco, including primary agriculture and retail, from 2003 to 2014. It provides information on global, regional and - where possible - national trends in FDI flows in food, beverages and tobacco. When data are available, this study also provides more detailed insights into particular qualitative traits of FDI flows, such as whether FDI seems to be market- or...

At its 54th Session, the Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP) requested the Intergovernmental Group on Meat to consider including hides and skins in its mandate, following which the Intergovernmental Group recommended the establishment of the Sub-Group on Hides and Skins in February 1985 and the CCP endorsed this proposal at its 55th Session in October 1985. In order to be able to service ad-hoc meetings and to facilitate discussions of...