ITC publications bring the business voice to sustainable trade, with a focus on developing countries. We offer guidance for trade policymakers, business support organizations and small firms. Our reports offer insights to make trade more inclusive, green, digital and competitive.
China is the world’s top fruit and vegetable producer, with vegetable outputs alone totalling 49% of global output. The Chinese market for tropical fruits and vegetables is set to keep on growing at a steady pace in the near future. For least developed country exporters, this market represents...
The coffee sector has a huge potential to contribute to poverty alleviation in East Africa, but the sector’s development is hampered by a lack of savings and credit facilities. Moreover, women’s access to financial services is even more restricted than that of men, and most women in rural areas...
Chinese imports of organic foods were about US$ 20 million in 2009, a limited amount compared with the size of the population, but the market has been growing rapidly and may become promising for least developed country exporters. This publication has been prepared to provide guidance to exporters...
Coffee is the world's most important agricultural crop in terms of trade volumes; it is exported by 60 countries and is one of the few major commodities grown predominantly by smallholder farmers. This report: presents an overview of the market trends for coffee certified as ‘sustainable’ over...
South Africa: A Potential Market for Agri-food Products from Africa aims to guide exporters in developing countries—mainly in Africa—on how to access the newly emerging agri-food market in South Africa. South Africa imported US$ 325 million worth of fruits, vegetables and spices in 2009. The...
China is both an exporter and importer of green coffee and roasted coffee. The quantities produced and consumed are modest in a global context: China produces some 40,000 tons of green coffee annually (0.5% of world production). Annual consumption is some 30,000 tons (0.025 kg per capita), a small...
This study invites national legislators as well as all those involved in enhancing the national business environment to consider secured financing schemes that will allow an increase in the amount of credit offered to SMEs. The reasoning is simple: allow as collateral property that SMEs usually...
A comprehensive guide to the fast-growing field of Islamic banking, this publication describes Islamic financial instruments and provides practical examples of how to use them. It focuses on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in the area of export finance.
This guide helps small exporters understand how to obtain finance, outlining the credit process of financial institutions, pre-application preparation, finding appropriate lenders and loan repayment. Models for business plans and loan requests are included. The guide also examines barriers to...
This report was prepared as an input to Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources for the development of their action plan for organic agriculture and trade. It can also serve as a model for a policy for organic in other developing countries as well as give some guidance for existing...
This publication concludes that organic agriculture has much to offer in both mitigation of climate change through its emphasis on closed nutrient cycles and is a particularly resilient and productive system for adaptation strategies. It also raises the issue of whether organic agriculture should be...
Report analysing the global market for organic cotton fibre, textiles and clothing - gives a definition of organic cotton and ‘fair trade’ cotton; provides detailed figures for organic cotton production, trade, and consumption; presents the geographical markets for organic...
