La variabilité des prix internationaux de base : les marchés sont-ils efficaces

Reforms in agricultural policy porposed by OECD Ministers in 1987 and elaborated in subsequent Ministerial meetings aim to place greater reliance on market rather than institutionally-set prices. As a result of reforms, producers of agricultural products will be obliged to refer to prices determined in, or influenced by, international commodity exchanges in making their decisions. One of the arguments for greater reliance on market-determined prices is that these will provide more accurate signals of fundamental market conditions and thus will generate an efficient allocation of resources. In this context, price variability may likely be an important issue. To the extent that market prices will increasingly guide decisions, price variability, particularly in the short to medium term, merits examination.