Commodity

In recent years, export bans on staple crops have become more and more common as countries attempt to safeguard their domestic food supplies and protect their populations from international food price spikes. Research has shown, however, that such policies often do more harm than good, reducing the prices that local producers receive for their goods and increasing uncertainty in the market for both farmers and traders.

Smallholder farmers make up over 90 percent of Ethiopia’s agricultural output and thus play a pivotal role in the country’s food production and availability. However, little research has been done regarding how farmers’ production and supply decisions respond to changes in agricultural prices. These supply responses can have significant implications for overall food security.

As developing country incomes rise and populations become more urbanized, food markets are seeing more demand for higher value and processed foods. At the same time, trade liberalization and increased foreign direct investment have stimulated changes in many countries’ food value chains, making it easier for modern markets to access a reliable supply of high-quality goods. These supply- and demand-side transformations have led to a strong new trend throughout developing regions – the growth of the modern supermarket.

As the only functioning commodity exchange in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) is viewed as wildly successful in modernizing the Ethiopian economy, linking smallholder farmers to markets, and enhancing the country’s food security.

Comme de nombreux gouvernements de pays en développement, le gouvernement du Malawi est intervenu sur les marchés agricoles du pays afin d'assurer un approvisionnement alimentaire adéquat à des prix raisonnables.