Overview

Fifty or more developing countries still depend mainly on the tropical commodities or minerals that they produce. But encouraging so many countries to grow coffee, sugar, cotton and other crops has been a disaster. Small farmers get only a tiny share of the final tag on these commodities on supermarket shelves in the North. Prices have collapsed, terms of trade between North and South have widened, and foreign exchange earnings, tax revenues, and economic growth in developing countries have plummeted. Here, Peter Robbins examines how this situation came about, the current trading arrangements and the possible ways forward. He argues that, if developing countries are to measure up to the scale of the disaster facing them, they must take a leaf out of supply side economics, and take the measures to bring supply and demand into a balance that will secure them far higher and more stable prices.

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9781842772812

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Reviews

'Peter Robbins presents a comprehensive picture of the fall in global commodity prices, its impact on global poverty and of the factors underlying this crisis. In itself this is an important contribution to knowledge. But much more important is his reminder that this crisis in prices and incomes arises from the workings of a market system with a growing asymmetry of power - global buyers grow ever larger and more powerful, whereas commodity producers have been fragmented as the international agencies have systematically undermined marketing boards, governments in poor countries and agreements between poor countries to bolster prices by limiting supply. The analysis is made more credible and vivid by the author's first-hand experience in commodity trading and by his welcome subjective and accessible style of writing.' - Professor Raphael Kaplinsky, IDS, Sussex 'This is a welcome addition to the literature on the crisis in developing country agriculture. The book takes a radical position in support of active multilateral intervention -- in the form of commodity pricing-agreements -- to secure decent livelihoods for the people who do the growing. This proposal, put forward by a former commodity trader -- a poacher turned gamekeeper -- deserves to be listened to and argued with.' - Robert Jenkins, Professor of Political Science, Birkbeck College, University of London 'At the end of the day or, more exactly, commodity chains, globalisation manifests itself in the poverty of Third World producers that enriches those who feed upon them. In this vein, Peter Robbins provides a compelling account of tropical commodities, arguing for policies that might make for significant differences.' - Ben Fine, Professor of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Peter Robbins effectively demolishes the myth that international markets serve poor countries well, and proposes an exciting and workable new solution to the crisis facing primary commodity producers.' - Dr Claire Melamed, Senior Policy Officer, Christian Aid

Author Information

Peter Robbins took early retirement from 20 years as a trader in rare and precious metals in the City of London, and became a consultant to the UN on trade relations between African countries and multinational companies. He has published several books on metals and agricultural markets and on sanctions against apartheid, including Tropical Commodities and their Markets (Kogan Page, 1995).

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