Commodities at a Glance (2024)

Energy access is defined in many ways but most definitions include having reliable and affordable access to both cooking facilities and electricity that can be scaled up over time. Access to reliable and quality energy supply is vital to the economic development of any country. The aim of this report is to provide information on the state of energy access in Sub-Sahara Africa and to identify policies that may contribute to enhancing access to modern energy services in Sub-Sahara Africa while moving towards a successful transition to zero emission fuels in a bid to align with global efforts to climate change mitigation.

This report discusses the general uses of industrial hemp and how they are reflected in international production and trade statistics. Based on current practical experiences and empirical expertise it also defines the steps to be taken by developing countries where climate and agronomic characteristics would suit the cultivation of hemp to exploit its economic and social potential. Industrial hemp is commonly known as not having intoxicant properties. Nonetheless industrial hemp remains a controversial plant as it is still often mistakenly associated with an intoxicant use. A negative connotation still prevails despite several millennia of history of industrial and medicinal applications. Such connotation is due in part to confusion about the botanical characteristics and chemotype of the plant.

The report on Bamboo provides information on the historical uses of bamboo and an analysis of the physical and mechanical properties of bamboo. It also highlights the opportunities and challenges for using bamboo as a building material.

Cashew nuts enjoy increasing popularity all around the globe. The top three cashew-consuming countries – India the United States of America and Germany - lie on three different continents. Cashews accounted for 17 per cent of world tree nut production in 2019/20 making it the third most popular tree nut after almonds and walnuts (INC 2020). Cashew nuts are consumed in a variety of forms including as salty or sweet snacks ingredient of desserts and savory dishes or further processed into cashew butter or ingredient of a variety of spreads sauces bars and drinks. Rising demand for these products has led global cashew production to more than double between 2000 and 2018 (see Chapter 3). This report takes stock of the global cashew market and gives an overview of cashew production trade patterns and policies. It also highlights opportunities for the cashew sector to foster value addition and diversification in cashew-growing countries and its potential contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The series “Commodities at a Glance” aims to collect present and disseminate accurate and relevant statistical information linked to international primary commodity markets in a clear concise and reader-friendly format.

The series “Commodities at a Glance” aims to collect present and disseminate accurate and relevant statistical information linked to international primary commodity markets in a clear concise and reader-friendly format. The report aims to provide information on the critical raw materials used in LIBs with respect to production consumption trade and prices.

The series Commodities at a Glance aims to collect present and disseminate accurate and relevant statistical information linked to international primary commodity markets in a clear concise and reader-friendly format. This edition is specifically dedicated to the issue on Coffee in East Africa.

The Commodities at a Glance series aims to collect present and disseminate accurate and relevant statistical information linked to international primary commodity markets in a clear concise and reader-friendly format. This edition is specifically dedicated to the shale gas problem.

The series “Commodities at a Glance” aims to collect present and disseminate accurate and relevant statistical information linked to international primary commodity markets in a clear concise and reader-friendly format. This issue of “Commodities at a Glance” explores the economic social and environmental relevance of the gum arabic sector with a focus on supply demand prices and market organization. Gum arabic is the most commercially valuable exudate gum with wide applications in industries as diverse as food and beverages pharmaceuticals cosmetics and printing. The gum is produced primarily in arid wooded savannas in sub-Saharan Africa and consumed predominantly by manufacturers in developed and emerging economies. Due to its potential to generate foreign exchange reserves ensure food security promote sustainable agriculture and forestry and combat desertification and climate change gum arabic is a promising commodity for a number of African countries. However in order to overcome the current uneven distribution of economic gains along the gum arabic value chain producing countries must increase local processing and ensure higher compensation for resource-poor gum collectors.

The series “Commodities at a Glance” aims to collect present and disseminate accurate and relevant statistical information linked to international primary commodity markets in a clear concise and reader-friendly format.

The series “Commodities at a Glance” aims to collect present and disseminate accurate and relevant statistical information linked to international primary commodity markets in a clear concise and reader-friendly format. This issue of Commodities at a Glance focuses on the global food security price volatility and continuing high food prices.

The series “Commodities at a Glance” aims to collect present and disseminate accurate and relevant statistical information linked to international primary commodity markets in a clear concise and reader-friendly format. Data on Rare Earths are sparse and there is no dedicated international public institution that monitors the rare earth market to provide authoritative and objective statistics on the sector. As a result this report has attempted to combine several sources of information in order to present the most possible accurate picture on the rare earths market.

The series “Commodities at a Glance” aims to collect present and disseminate accurate and relevant statistical information linked to international primary commodity markets in a clear concise and reader-friendly format. Given the recent record rises in cotton prices and wider commodity price volatility this edition of Commodities at a glance (n°2) will focus on the world cotton industry with a special emphasis on African cotton producing countries. The cotton sector in Africa is critical to the provision of sustainable rural livelihoods and the economic development of these countries. This issue of Commodities at a glance with its focus on the African cotton sector has been prepared for the Pan-African Cotton Meeting in June 2011 in Cotonou (Benin).

The series “Commodities at a Glance” aims to collect present and disseminate accurate and relevant statistical information linked to international primary commodity markets in a clear concise and reader-friendly format. This quarter’s edition of UNCTAD’s Commodities at a Glance describes world energy trade price production and consumption trends with a particular focus on Africa.