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Commodity production and trade provide the primary livelihoods for millions of households throughout the developing world. The development of this sector is essential to poverty alleviation efforts and overall economic development. However, as witnessed in recent spikes in the price of wheat and soybeans, the commodity sector is challenged by severe price volatility and high marketing costs. Many believe that commodity exchanges provide a way to mitigate these risks and increase economic efficiency in a liberalized market environment.

The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report provides monthly comprehensive forecasts of supply and demand for major U.S. and global crops, supplied by the USDA. Crops covered include wheat, coarse grains, rice, and oilseeds. This report can explain past and current global commodities trends, as well as predict trends for the coming year.

Download the January report below. For more information regarding the WASDE reports, visit http://www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/

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The dramatic surge in food prices in 2007–2008 seriously threatened the world’s poor, who struggle to buy food even under normal circumstances, and led to protests and riots in the developing world. The crisis eventually receded, providing some measure of relief for citizens in the countries that were most affected by the price surge; yet the FAO’s recent statement that global food prices reached a record high in December 2010 has raised the specter of another crisis.

The FAO has released its Food Price Index for December, 2010. This report provides a measure of the monthly change in international prices for major food commodities. The December Price Index shows a marked increase in global food prices, with higher sugar, grain, and oilseed costs driving world food prices to a record high.

To view the whole report, visit http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/FoodPricesIndex/en/ .

Increasing food prices present both challenges and opportunities for the developing world. Just as the transmission of global prices to domestic prices can differ by country and commodity, the effects of changes in food prices within a country can differ from household to household. The welfare of urban and rural households may be affected differently, as will the welfare of net consumers compared to that of net producers.