Outside markets

Several factors impact on international commodity markets, including energy prices, the cost of fertilizer, and the dollar exchange rate. High energy prices, in particular, have been identified as one of the main causes of the agricultural price spike of 2008/09. The cost of fertilizer affects the agricultural production process and thus the price of commodities. And the dollar exchange rate defines a country's terms of trade.

About AMIS indicators

AMIS promotes a better understanding of developments in global food markets. A central task in this regard is to monitor market and policy drivers that impact on global food prices and their volatility.

Energy and other indicators

Ethanol

Ethanol, which is commonly produced from sugarcane or maize, is the most widely used biofuel in the world. Led by Brazil and the United States, global production more than doubled over the past ten years, reaching a total of about 150 billion litres in 2018. More than half of the Brazilian sugarcane crop and around 40% of the US maize crop are currently processed into ethanol, highlighting the strong linkages between ethanol and crop prices.

Chart description

Chart description

Price quotations are from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for futures contracts of Denatured Fuel Ethanol ASTM D4806 + California Standards, with a contract size of 29,000 gallons (around 110 thousand litres). For more information, click here.

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