Developing the Regulatory Environment for Competitive Commodity Markets Book

In 1992, LATAD initiated a regional activity aimed at assessing the relative merits of various initiatives to deal with price instability and price risk management in general. Analytical work in price bands and the joint FAO/World Bank workshop in Santiago in October 1993 were part of this effort. Simultaneously, we initiated a few case studies of the status of commodity markets in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. The focus of these studies has been to identify the requirements for development of (domestic) private commodity markets for the major grains, with a clear specification of the areas where government regulations serve a facilitating role and areas of private setor responsibility. This report identifies the minimum requirements for the development of private commodity markets. Their analysis is based on their extensive experience in Latin American and Caribbean countries as well as in the United States and other regions.