Commodities hit 60-year low


12 February 1999


Commodities hit 60-year low


COMMODITY prices have crashed by more than 50%, reports the World Bank.

It says coffee is down 54%, cotton 51%, wheat 41% and sugar 51%.

The crash is a disaster for developing countries, for example in sub-Saharan Africa, where commodities account for three-quarters of export earnings.

But even in the UK, there has been a depressing fall. Property agent FPDSavills index of British farmland prices stands 13% below its 1997 level.

See more