SUMMARY
Summary: The purpose of this report is to provide government officials and others in developing countries with general background information on the different commodity risk management markets around the world and on the variety of instruments that are offered in these markets to reduce their price risks. It is hoped that this information will contribute to a better understanding of the potential of both these markets and these instruments. In view of the large demand for the first two issues of this report, published in March 1993 and December 1994, and as background material for a meeting of a group of experts to examine the usefulness and effectiveness for commodity-dependent countries of new tools (for risk management and collotalerized finance), to be held in May 1998, it was decided to issue a new, updated and slightly expanded version. The Commodities Branch of the UNCTAD secretariat would welcome any suggestions from readers for improving the text so that it meets this objective as fully as possible. [English only]
