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Article: COMMENT: Increased affluence changes global trade.
- Article from:
- Fund Strategy
- Article date:
- July 9, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Centaur Communications Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Agriculture has become a relatively niche enterprise in modern industrial economies. However, the latest 10-year Agricultural Outlook from the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations highlights some important trends*. These apply to the economy and investment more generally rather than just agriculture.
Perhaps the most straightforward is that, in relative terms, agriculture is becoming less important. Everyone still needs to eat but agriculture is accounting for a smaller proportion of world trade and the global economy.
Second, trade is expanding, both in terms of the numbers of ...