The latest ICT Update from CTA is all about market information systems in developing countries. A few months ago it was fair trade. 1 One of the featured articles is about Kenya’s commodity exchange, and the changes it has undergone since ICT Update first reported on it in 2002. This now officially qualifies as a trend. There was also news today that Ghana is thinking about following — and learning from — Ethiopia in setting up an “agricultural commodity exchange … to bring producers, buyers and consumers together to trade on a common platform by providing ready market for farm gate products from the agricultural centers.”
And far, far away, at the other end of the supply chain, Supermarket Secrets is a long (very long!) look behind the scenes at modern supermarket “practices that have significant implications on the health of our environment, our animals, our food — and ultimately our own health.” 2
LATER: Never rains but it pours. Here’s an example of such practices, from a review of the book Movable Feasts, by Sarah Murray, which sounds like a must-read: “Norwegian salmon is harvested, frozen, and sent by container ship to China, where it is de-boned in a factory, refrozen, and then sent on to markets in Europe and the US.”
- Note that, as with us here, you can have a look at the geographical coverage of ICT Update’s articles.
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