Primary commodities in international trade /

Includes index.

This book is fundamentally based on lectures given at Cambridge during the 1950's, but it is by no means a mere transcription. The author takes "primary products" to mean foodstuffs and materials in the form in which they are first exchanged internationally. "International trade" is taken to mean world-wide or trans-ocean trade. The book is divided into four parts. In the first part the author explains the basis on which he has selected certain primary products for particular study and describes the organization of production of these commodities. In the second part he draws attention to the processes of marketing and price determination. The function of producers' cooperatives and national marketing boards is discussed and there is a clear description of the practice of "hedging", and the operation of the futures market. The appendix to chapter five consists of a discussion of the economics of private merchanting versus government bulk trading. The third part of the book comprises an historical study of trends and fluctuations in international trade in primary products in the period 1918-1964 and of the international problem of how to stabilize their prices. Part four deals with commodity control schemes and emphasizes the important role which these have come to play in the arrangements which governments or groups of governments make for their economic relations with other governments and groups. The final chapter indicates the change in ideas on the nature and functions of commodity control which has recently been taking place, especially since 1960.

II 17/01/2019

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