Commodity price forecasts are widely used by businesses, governments and investors. In countries where one or a few commodities account for a large part of tax revenue (e.g., oil and mineral exporters), price forecasts often determine next year’s budget.
In India, marginal farmers are farmers cultivating (as owner, tenant or sharecropper) agricultural land less than a hectare. They account for 63% of land holdings and an even larger part of the agricultural workforce. They tend to be poor, and many are illiterate. They operate in difficult market conditions, with weak support infrastructure and poor access to credit.
If past eras could be characterized as the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age, then we currently live in the Crude Age. And just like “The stone age did not end because the world ran out of stones,
When you simulate price risk management using a simple decision-making model, it has a negligible impact on the average price that a producer receives over a couple of years, or that an end user would pay on average during a multi-year period.
Most commodity futures markets exhibit what can be described as a whiplash effect. At times, the price for a nearby futures contract is lower than that of further-away months, at other times, the nearby contracts trade at higher prices than the further-away months, and in yet other instances, the forward price curve has the shape of a lopsided smile.
Corn has become a part of our lifestyle. Watching a movie is incomplete without popcorn. Healthy breakfast? Cornflakes are the main choice of cereal. Family gathering in Puncak is best accompanied by warm roasted corn. Afternoon tea, delicious while snacking. Crispy Corn Fritters? That's enough, don't think about it anymore.