Research Catalog

Title

International Agreements for Commodity Price Stabilisation [electronic resource]: An Assessment / Christopher Gilbert

Author

Gilbert, Christopher.

Publication

Paris : OECD Publishing, 2011.

Details

Description

41 p.; 21 x 29.7cm.

Summary

This paper looks at commodity stocks, their role in price determination for storable commodities, and past efforts of international stockholding arrangements with economic provisions in stabilising world prices. Low stocks to use ratios of recent years were one of a number of contributory factors to the grain price spike in 2007-08, the paper finds. However, the experience with past international commodity agreements (ICAs) with price band provisions and stockholding obligations suggests that they had only limited success in reducing the volatility of the prices they set out to stabilise, as well as being prone to many other operational problems. The paper also suggests that as a possible response to apparently inadequate private storage, public sector storage would be costly, ineffective in countering price spikes once stocks are fully exhausted, and would crowd out private storage. Some market-based approaches to countering food price volatility are also examined as alternatives to commodity storage.

Series Statement

OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers, 1815-6797 ; no.53

Uniform Title

OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers, no.53.

Subject

Agriculture and Food

LCCN

10.1787/5kg0ps7ds0jl-en

OCLC

oecd-lib

Author

Gilbert, Christopher.

Title

International Agreements for Commodity Price Stabilisation [electronic resource]: An Assessment / Christopher Gilbert

Imprint

Paris : OECD Publishing, 2011.

Series

OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers, 1815-6797 ; no.53

OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers, 1815-6797 ; no.53.

Connect to:

Full text online available onsite at NYPL

Indexed Term

Agriculture and Food

Other Standard Identifier

10.1787/5kg0ps7ds0jl-en doi