The expert meeting will consider issues relating to the development and application of commodity exchanges as institutions for facilitating trade and offering instruments to manage price risk in developing countries´ commodity sectors.
| Structural changes in underlying commodity markets - in particular, liberalization and the substantial withdrawal of government support for the sector - initially drove the promotion by emerging-market Governments of exchanges as an instrument of commodity-sector development. In recent years, a more ambitious approach has been taken. Largely driven by advances in information and communications technology, commodity exchanges are now moving beyond earlier constraints to become institutional catalysts for improving performance in the commodity sector and for integrating supply chains. |
The discussions on this topic will serve to inform UNCTAD member States about the growing usefulness of commodity exchanges in liberalizing and globalizing commodity markets.
The discussions will provide a forum for appraising the extent to which a commodity exchange can trigger a wide range of potential benefits for developing countries´ commodity sectors by:
- creating markets and broadening access to them
- building confidence among commodity-sector participants to enter into trading relationships
- improving the price discovery process
- facilitating risk management and access to finance
- enhancing infrastructure
- upgrading the quality of production
Experts will also examine the key challenges in promoting a robust but facilitative regulatory environment within which a commodity exchange can operate effectively, as well as the role of commodity exchanges in stimulating the expansion of South-South commodity trade and regional integration.
- Seminar on Funding Sources for Emerging Exchange and Capital Market Development (4 September 2007)
- Emerging Markets Forum (5 September 2007)
- Small commodity producers receive a suite of services from commodity exchanges
- Taking a new look at commodity issues
