Global Status of Commercialised Biotech Crops
This article summarises the global status of commercialised genetically modified crops (GM - now more commonly called 'biotech crops'). Its focus on developing countries is consistent with the 'International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications' (ISAAA) mission to assist developing countries in assessing the potential contribution of biotech crops to food security and poverty alleviation. Our principal aim is to present a consolidated set of data that will facilitate a knowledge-based discussion by society of the current global trends in biotech crops.
By Clive James, Commodities Now, June 2007.

Banker's Taste for Cocoa
After the successful signing of COCOBOD's (Ghana Cocoa Board's) trade-backed loan facility to support the year's cocoa crop, François Monnier, Head of Soft Commodities in the natural resources and related industries department at investments and projects bank Natixis, talks to Commodities Now about the continuing appeal of one of Africa's longest running annual trade financings.
By François Monnier, Soft Commodities, Commodities Now, December 2006.

Don't Super-Cycle Me
The concept of a 'Commodities Super-Cycle' has been floating around the investor community for a couple of years now. It has been central to the massive rush of investor money into the commodities complex. We question this validity.
By Jeffrey M. Christian of CPM Group, Commodities Now, September 2006.

Biofuels: Curbing Carbon & Securing Sustainability?
Biofuels - those derived from plant matter and other 'renewable' feedstocks - are set to boom as high energy prices, supply security and sustainable development have gone to the top of political and economic agenda. This article looks at the ethanol sector of the bioenergy market.
By Guy Isherwood, Editor, Commodities Now, March 2006.

A Rational Alternative to the Commodities Super-Cycle Theory
The prices of many - but not all - commodities have been rising sharply over the past two years. There are many good reasons for this. The increase in prices reflects the combination of several fundamental trends. Fabrication demand for many commodities is rising, reflecting strong economic growth in many quarters of the world and an overall expansion in demand for basic commodities due to the emergence of new consumer economies in India, China, Russia, and elsewhere. Economic development conditions have increased the demand for many commodities at any given price. Investment demand is also rising. Supply increases meanwhile have been slower than the increases in fabrication and investment demand, reflecting the lagged effects of many years of low prices and structural under-investment in the productive sectors of the commodities markets.
By Jeffrey Christian, CPM Group, Commodities Now, December 2005.

Managing Risk With Forward Freight Agreements
The growth in the demand for goods in Asia particularly has increased participation as well as prices for Forward Freight Agreements (FFAs). Adam Sonin highlights these changes and the development of more efficient markets.
By Adam Sonin, Head of Shipping Derivatives for ACM/GFI, London, Commodities Now, June 2005.

Proof That Technical Analysis Really Works
Of course technical analysis really works! But since the days of early chartists like Edwards and McGee, technicians have struggled to prove it directly - as demanded by sceptics - with hard mathematical evidence. This article, which focuses on the performance of momentum indicators, demonstrates that now, with the number crunching power that computerisation affords, all that has changed and the proof is in.
By Cynthia Kase, Kase & Company Inc, Commodities Now, March 2005.

Softs in 2005
Soft commodity prices, as measured by the Economist Intelligence Unit's food, feedstuffs and beverages (FFB) commodities index, are forecast to ease in 2005. This is due to better than expected supply prospects and larger stocks, which will weigh heavily on prices. The weaker outlook for 2005 compares with the sharp increase in the FFB index seen this year, where prices were supported by strong economic growth and the effects of 2003's drought related crop shortfall.
By Kona Haque, Commodities Now, December 2004.

EU Agricultural Outlook
Following the enlargement of the European Union and the creation of a single market of 455 million consumers, agricultural trade in the EU-25 could grow significantly, maintaining its principally easterly direction.
Commodities Now, June 2004.

Softs for 2004
A quiet revolution is occurring in the European wholesale energy market place. It's a revolution led by the industry itself and is based on the comparatively 'technocratic' activity of standardisation of data exchange and business processes. The aim of this concerted effort is to unlock the potential value held by e-business for the liberalising pan-European energy market.
By Matt Parry, Economist Intelligence Unit, Commodities Now, December 2003.

Softs in 2003
The Economist Intelligence Unit's soft commodities index - food, feedstuffs and beverages (FFB) - bottomed out in the fourth quarter of 2001 and has since risen through 2002. The third quarter of 2002, saw sharply escalating soft commodity prices - almost a golden time for prices across these agricultural commodities - led by grains (notably wheat, sorghum and maize) and oilseeds (led by soybean oil and rapeseed oil).
By Matt Parry, Senior Commodities Editor, Economist Intelligence Unit, Commodities Now, December 2002.

Clouds in my Coffee
Oversupply prompts crisis in the coffee markets.
By Karen St Jean-Kufuor, Commodities Now, September 2002.