http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
1 online resource (xii, 179 pages) : illustrations
Grain is one of the world's most important staple commodities and one of the most hotly contested. With ever present malnutrition and starvation in many regions contrasting with huge agricultural surpluses in richer areas, it comes as no surprise that grain features highly in both human welfare and global trading issues. In the second edition of this book, Michael Atkin examines the political and economic dynamics of the international trade, explaining to the reader how the industry works and producing an understanding of the many ironies that are apparent in the trade of this vital commodity. This edition also takes into account a number of recent developments that have affected, or promise to affect, the grain trade such as the collapse of the USSR and the completion of the Uruguay Round at GATT. The book introduces the grain market to those who have not yet made its acquaintance and makes an excellent quick reference source for the better informed, providing a comprehensive insider's view of the trade. The international grain trade is an essential desk top reference to every aspect of the market for producers, traders, brokers, institutional investors and students.
Front Cover; The International Grain Trade; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Tables; Figures; Preface; PART I: Introduction; CHAPTER 1. Grain; Grains and their role; Proteins and carbohydrates; The uses of grain; The origins of grain; CHAPTER 2. A brief history of the grain trade; Ancient Greece; Ancient Rome; Britain; CHAPTER 3. Grain in the global political economy; The 1930s; The 1950s; The 1970s; Soviet-American relations; Developing countries; The US and the European Community; PART II: Production, consumption, trade and prices; CHAPTER 4. Grain production.
Grain and its climatic requirementsProduction patterns -- a long term view; Production of wheat; Production of coarse grains; Policies and their impact on production; Agricultural policy in the European Community; gricultural policy in the US; Grain policy -- some summary observations; CHAPTER 5. Consumption; The consumption of wheat; The consumption of coarse grains; Grain consumption -- some summary observations; CHAPTER 6. Exports and imports; The Soviet Union and its successor states; The People's Republic of China; The European Community; Exporters' responses; CHAPTER 7. Prices.
Long term price trendsRecent price developments; Interrelationships among wheat prices; Interrelationships among coarse grain prices; The determinants of prices; PART III: The institutions of trade; CHAPTER 8. From farmer to consumer: the marketing chain; Key problems in marketing grain; Grain marketing in the US; Grain marketing by public bodies; The international marketing of grain; The grain freight market; Grain marketing -- some summary observations; CHAPTER 9. Grain trade: the key players; The grain trading companies; Does the companies' size matter?
Grain trading companies -- some conclusionsCHAPTER 10. Grain futures markets; The emergence and workings of futures markets; The role of futures markets in grain; The use of futures and options markets by hedgers and speculators; Techniques of price forecasting; The regulation of futures trading; PART IV: Looking ahead; CHAPTER 11. Market trends for the next decade; The impact of the Uruguay Round; Reforms in the European Community; The former Soviet Union and China; The role of developing countries; Implications for production, consumption and trade; A world food crisis ahead?
Appendix: the world rice marketBibliography; Index.
Includes bibliographical references (172-176) and index.