The evolving structure of world agricultural trade. Implications for trade policy and trade agreements

The objective of this book is to highlight and analyze several factors impinging on future agricultural trade developments. These factors include rapidly changing food demand patterns arising from economic growth and associated urbanisation, the level and nature of support and protection provided to agriculture in both developed and developing countries, the increasing prominence of technical regulations and private standards, the increasing levels of concentration in agricultural supply chains, and growing concerns regarding pressures on the scarce natural resources in light of climate change. The book seeks to improve the level of appreciation and understanding of these factors by collecting a series of contribution by academics and practitioners active in the field of agricultural trade and related policy. It sets the contexts for a discussion on trade policy intervention in the context of evolving structures, reviews evidence on trends in a number of the factors that will shape the evolution of global agricultural trade, and discusses how trade rules may need to be adapted to account for these evolving trends and to deal with the challenges.