This first session of the AMIS Global Food Market Information Group aims to review procedures and tools that individual country members use for drawing national supply and demand balances for AMIS commodities and establish the bases for an agreed methodology.

The field of competence of the Information Group, according to its Terms of Reference, “covers production, stocks, trade, utilization and prices (including futures prices). Its members (i.e. focal points) are expected to fulfill the following functions:

1. provide regular reliable, accurate, timely and comparable data regarding the supply and demand position and its probable short term development, as well as regarding prices, of the four commodities covered by AMIS with the view to support its early warning aspects;
2. organize the timely collection of national policy developments that could impact the market situation and outlook and collation of reports covering agricultural markets, in particular for commodities covered by AMIS;
3. promote the improvement of statistics and information, including the enhancement of national information systems as well as related databases;
4. act as a conduit to each AMIS member country to facilitate the sharing of data and market information;
5. share improvements on data collection methods and provide the Secretariat with guidance on capacity building; and
6. work closely with the AMIS Secretariat, exchanging relevant information on a timely basis and representing their country at AMIS meetings.”

While this meeting will not be able to include all the above-mentioned tasks in its 2-day discussions, it intends to (i) take stock of national practices and methodologies in collecting and analyzing market data, (ii) discuss best practices for data collection and market analysis (iii) identify priorities with respect to future capacity development (iv) define what each country will provide to AMIS with immediate effect.