Managing Commodity Price Risk in Developing Countries

Book excerpt: Primary commodities represent more than one-half of the export earnings of many developing countries. The large fluctuations that can occur in the prices of such commodities are therefore a main economic difficulty for these countries. New financial techniques can lower the risk caused by these price changes over longer periods and allow financial obligations to be linked to commodity prices. But few developing countries have used these techniques. This book shows policymakers in developing countries how to use the full range of new and established financial techniques. Through case studies, it provides detailed information about the techniques, analyzes the institutional constraints on them, and illustrates the kinds of technical assistance needed to make good use of them. It also describes the instruments, the markets, and the current regulatory framework. For the past several years, the World Bank has assisted developing countries in managing commodity price risk. The book draws extensively on the lessons learned from this assistance to demonstrate that developing countries can benefit significantly from using financial techniques to manage their risk.