In view of the urgency and size of the problem how to feed the world’s population, the framework given to the recent World Food Conference did not seem to be over-extended. The poor results, however, give again rise to the general question whether international mammoth meetings like the one in...

Weighty objections have been raised against stabilization of commodity markets through agreements. The drawbacks of commodity agreements can, however, be largely overcome if the rigid theoretical notion of a price fixed strictly for a long period is abandoned.

UNCTAD's Integrated Programme for Commodities (IPC) would come much closer to being realised, if the industrial and the developing countries could agree on creating the Common Fund. But the Fund remains in dispute. While the LCDs only want to discuss the details of its organisation, the...