Developing countries are likely to come under increasing pressure to make significant adjustments to the commodity choices in their agricultural production as radical changes in consumer choices continue to reduce demand for food crops once considered to be unchanging staples in the diets of many millions of people around the world, according to a European Commission study titled “Food Safety and Agricultural Health Standards: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Country Exports” published earlier this year.
The study suggests that global trends may be pointing in the direction of a shift in demand for agricultural commodities such as tea, cocoa, sugar and coffee as well as other crops like cotton and tobacco which represent a significant portion of agricultural production in poor countries.