The effect of China's domestic public storage on world market prices: the case of cotton

PurposeDuring world price spike periods, the government is more likely to apply trade distortions to stabilize domestic prices, but the trade distortions would amplify fluctuations of international market prices. Which type of policy may stabilize the domestic market price, but not disturb the international market? This paper answers the question by taking public storage policy as a case study in the context of trade policy. Specially, this paper tries to identify the effect of domestic public storage on the world market price.Design/methodology/approachThis article extends a standard theoretical model of trade policy through incorporating domestic public storage policy and makes the model more applicable in the context of China. The extended model is then applied to analysis how domestic public storage policy affects the international market price in the context of trade policy. Finally, a properly identified structural vector auto-regression technique is applied to test the effect of domestic public storage on the world market price by using cotton data from China.FindingsThe theoretical model indicates that China's public storage policy could stabilize the international market price. In order to test the working mechanisms, China's soaring public storage between 2010 and 2014 is employed to identify the effects of China's cotton storage on the volatility of the world price. The empirical findings show that China was able to stabilize the international price of cotton to a non-trivial extent through alteration of its public stockpile.Originality/valueThe first contribution is that this paper extends a standard theoretical model of trade policy to incorporate domestic public storage policy, which enables us to explore the effects of domestic public storage policy on the world price in the context of China. The second major contribution is that this paper provides evidence that, as a large player in the world market, China's public storage policy could stabilize the international agricultural price to a substantial degree.

West African cocoa farmers face price disappointment

Significance However, with COVID-19-related disruptions weakening chocolate demand, and expectations for another tumble in cocoa’s world market price, the Ivorian Coffee and Cocoa Board (CCC) and the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) face budgetary challenges in providing a promised guaranteed minimum income. Impacts Though both regulators face pre-season financing challenges, they expect to secure financing for 2020/21 harvest cocoa purchases. Chocolate manufacturers in consumer countries will maintain pressure on the CCC and Cocobod to pay out the LID as promised to farmers. Demand for chocolate is expected to recover in the medium term, giving some reassurance for an eventual modest cocoa price recovery.

Enhanced l-Lysine into 1,5-Diaminopentane Conversion via Statistical Optimization of Whole-Cell Decarboxylation System

The global lysine companies in the feed industry have steadily built their production facilities due to the high demand for l-lysine in animal farms, and in recent years there have been excessive supply problems and the world market price of l-lysine has fallen. In this study, the conversion of 1,5-diaminopentane (DAP) by decarboxylation of l-lysine was strategically chosen to enhance the value of lysine. The decarboxylation is enzymatically accessible, and Hafnia alvei, which is the producer of l-lysine decarboxylase, was applied as a whole-cell form. In the designed whole-cell biocatalytic system, the major four reaction factors were selected by fundamental investigation and then statistical optimization was performed to estimate the optimum condition. The predicted conversion was assessed at about 94.6% at the optimum conditions (125.1 mM l-lysine and 71.5 g/L acetone concentration at 35.2 °C for 8.4 h). Under the determined conditions, DAP conversions by using analytical, feed and industrial crude l-lysine were found to be 98.3%, 92.5% and 72.4%, respectively. These results could be suggested to solve the problem of excessive supplied lysine and also to provide guidance for improved enzymatic conversion by statistical optimization.

STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS OF ORGANIZATION GARLIC BUSINESS IN UKRAINE

The article considers the current state of the garlic market in the world. It is determined that garlic is one of the most widely used crops in the world and has a wide range of uses, which makes it a promising object of business interests. An overview of the dominant trends in the production of garlic, the capacity of the world market, price aspects and formed the top 5 countries-exorcists of this product. The trend of gradual growth of volumes of deliveries and currency earnings has been recorded. The tendencies of export-import circulation of garlic are analyzed, features of production and realization of this product in Ukraine are determined. The key problems of domestic garlic are outlined. A description of the varietal conglomeration of domestic garlic selection was carried out. On the basis of author's data, the calculation of the efficiency of using different planting material and landing schemes was made. Also calculated the expediency of storing garlic in vegetable stores and selling it in winter. On the basis of which are summarized the main vectors of the organization of profitable garlic business in the countryside. According to the results of the conducted research, a number of problematic factors that restrain the effective development of this industry in Ukraine are proposed and the key paradigmatic directions of their solution are proposed.

Developments in the EU and world sugar markets in 2009

The article reviews the developments on the sugar market in 2009. After the introduction, it starts with an overview of production and consumption in all world regions. Production shortfalls in major producing countries led to an increase of the world market price to a 28 year high. For the current season, a further deficit is expected. The next chapter informs about developments on the EU market, where the implementation phase of the 2006 reform ended and a new regulation for sugar imports from ACP countries entered into force. The last chapter discusses model based forecasts of the world sugar market over the coming decade and determining factors of the medium term development of production and consumption of sugar.

Why Has China's Agriculture Survived WTO Accession?

To explain why Chinese agriculture has survived following WTO accession, this article examines both domestic and international factors. These include the high world market price, strong domestic demand and limited supplies, trade protectionism, and domestic policies such as government investment and taxation. The article summarizes how China's agriculture has been affected by accession to the WTO.

Information, Finance, and the New International Inequality: The Case of Coffee

This paper argues that a “new” international inequality has been superimposed over the “old” international inequality, and that this superimposition can help to explain the increasing degree of inequality in the world economy today. The old international inequality was based on the colonial division of labor, in which the periphery provided raw materials to core-based industries. The new inequality is based on control over ?ows of information and ?nancial capital by core-based transnational corporations (TNCs). This argument is illustrated using the empirical example of the world coffee market, comparing the responses of market participants to twosevere frosts in Brazil, which significantly disrupted the market. Following the first frost, in 1975 under the “old” international inequality, TNCs responded gradually amidst uncertainty over the frost’s impacts, allowing coffee-producing countries to reap windfall profits during an extended period of high prices. TNCs responded immediately to the second frost in 1994, due to their access to information about the severity of the frost and their control over financial instruments used to set the world market price of coffee. This quick response enabled them to capture most of the excess profits resulting from a much shorter period of high prices.

Tobacco Production in Switzerland

In Switzerland approximately 730 ha of tobacco are grown, mainly on small family farms. The main growing area is located in the French speaking part of the country, on altitudes ranging from 400 to 800 m above sea level. Approximately 93 % of the surface is planted with Burley and 7 % with Virginia. The cigarette manufacturers have to buy the whole crop of acceptable quality by law proportionally to their market share in Switzerland, in total approximately 1300-1500 tons per year. The buying organization, named SOTA (Societe cooperative pour l'achat du tabac indigene) has been created by the industry in 1930. It is responsible to buy and distribute the whole crop and finances a small research center with the aim to improve the quality. There is an agreement between the SOTA and the grower's organization FAPTA (Federation suisse des associations de planteurs de tabac) that limits the maximum surface to 730 ha. The price paid to the farmer is fixed by the government and is significantly higher than the world market price. The difference between the price paid to the farmer and the one paid by the industry is compensated by a specific fund which is under supervision of the custom and excise department. Because of several good crops, this system of subsidy became problematic. Therefore a new system of quota has been introduced for the 1997/1998 crop which limits the quantity of tobacco which can be delivered by each farmer.