Panelists at a roundtable at the on-going 12th UNCTAD Conference in Accra have came up with common views on the changing face of commodities especially rising prices. The panellists who were made up of delegates from Ghana, Angola, Argentina, Mauritania, Uganda and Sri Lanka agreed that the current boom in commodity prices will not stabilise now. There is therefore the need to ensure that the interest of countries involved in the production and consumption of these commodities are met. This the panellists say could be done by converting what appears to be calamity into opportunities.
They urged governments to see the importance of diversification, value addition, good governance through appropriate legal and regulatory framework. There is the need to take a look again at the distribution of returns from commodity production especially the minerals sector.
On the way forward it was clear from the deliberations that the issue of commodity price hike requires international intervention through the framework of UNCTAD. A number of the panellists emphasised the need for UNCTAD to play a leading role in pricing of commodities. Some of these issues they said need to be addressed in the context of integrating commodity policies into national, regional and international development and poverty reduction strategies.Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
