Geneva, 27 April 2007 - The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), noting the importance of trade in agricultural commodities for poverty reduction and economic growth in poor nations, has designated the Global Initiative on Commodities meeting set for 7-11 May 2007 in Brasilia an official pre-event of the UNCTAD XII conference to be held next year in Ghana.
The theme for UNCTAD XII is "addressing the opportunities and challenges of globalization for development." Profitable trade in agricultural commodities is considered vital if developing countries are to benefit from the global economy -- and so raise living standards. Recent increases in demand for commodities have been spurred by growing "South-South" trade, or trade between developing countries, in particular as a result of spectacular economic growth in some Asian nations.
UNCTAD holds major policy-setting meetings every four years for a collective reflection on topical economic issues as well as to define the programme of work for the organization. UNCTAD XII will take place from 20-25 April 2008 in Accra, Ghana. The last UNCTAD quadrennial conference was held in Sao Paolo, Brazil, in 2004.