Trends and Changes in Agricultural Commodities Markets

Dear Colleagues,

1. Geopolitical economy of food systems.

This theme examines the impact of geopolitical factors on global food systems, with tariff wars, supply chain nationalization, sanctions, and strategic reserve policies reshaping trade flows and market access for major agricultural commodities. Additionally, it investigates the implications for regional food security and the role of international policy interventions.

2. Climate-resilient commodity value chains.

This theme investigates the adaptation and transformation of commodity value chains in response to escalating climate threats and sustainability demands. It explores market-based resilience mechanisms, such as parametric insurance products, climate-indexed derivatives, and carbon removal verification commodity contracts. The emphasis is on building adaptive and sustainable value chains that mitigate climate risks while ensuring environmental stewardship and economic viability.

3. AI, IoT, and Blockchain in commodity markets.

This theme explores the transformative impact of digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and Blockchain on agricultural commodity markets. These technologies are revolutionizing price discovery, risk management, and traceability systems by eliminating information asymmetries, reducing transaction costs, and enabling data-driven decision making.

4. Circular bioeconomy.

This theme focuses on the transition towards a circular bioeconomy, emphasizing the sustainable use of biological resources, waste reduction, and the creation of value-added products from agricultural commodities.

5. Innovations in commodity derivative markets.

This area examines recent advancements and innovations in commodity derivative markets, including algorithm trading, climate related indexed futures, ESG-linked contracts, and blockchain-enabled trading platforms. The focus is on how these innovations improve market efficiency, liquidity, and risk management.

6. Small-holder farmer inclusion.

This theme investigates strategies for integrating small-holder farmers into global commodity markets, addressing challenges related to market access, financial inclusion, and capacity building. It explores the role of digital platforms, micro-financing, and cooperative models in democratizing market participation, ensuring equitable growth, and enhancing livelihood security.

This Special Issue will serve as a crucial reference point for understanding the multidimensional transformation occurring across agricultural commodity markets. By bringing together perspectives from economics, agronomy, climate science, and technology studies, it offers policymakers and market participants a comprehensive framework for navigating the rapidly changing landscape of agricultural commodity markets in an era of heightened uncertainty and technological promise. This Special Issue will contribute to scholarly debates on market resilience, sustainability, and inclusive growth in an era of heightened uncertainty and technological advancement.

Dr. Mariette Geyser
Prof. Dr. Anmar Pretorius
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Commodities is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• geopolitical economy of food systems
• climate-resilient commodity value chains
• AI, IoT and Blockchain in commodity markets
• circular bioeconomy
• small-holder farmer inclusion
• innovations in commodity derivative markets