International trade has long become an integral part of our lives. Import and export of goods has become global, and every day more and more countries are involved in these processes - market participants. Russia has long been firmly integrated into these relations. A balance in this area is the key to food security of our country, and, therefore, the question strategic. Of course, we can’t do without import completely, as there are products that simply do not grow in our homeland, but it’s not worth it to abuse it to the detriment of our own producer.
In the 19th century, the development of the transport system led to a sharp increase in trade between countries. And already in the 20th century, when a revolution in the world of information technologies took place, international trade reached a qualitatively new level, thereby significantly increasing sales volumes. Today, countries such as the USA, Japan and Germany are the leaders in terms of turnover, they control over seventy percent of total international trade.
The import of goods for many countries is the only possible way to obtain the goods they need, since it will cost much more to produce it on the territory of their country than to buy it in a neighboring state. The world market and international trade are, of course, directly connected.
International trade emerged precisely in the process of the emergence of the world market, and serves as an excellent incentive to improve enterprises producing export products, since international competition is extremely high. All this provides employment of the population, because export deliveries usually tend to increase in scale.
It also happens that the world market and international trade become a source of decline in the country. As, for example, this happened in the USA at the end of the 19th century, when Argentina, having invented a refrigerator, overtook the United States of America in the import of frozen meat, which until then had imported exclusively salted and smoked products.
Meanwhile, international food trade is the largest segment of trade relations between countries. The main share of food in the international market is cereals, as well as products obtained after their processing. A significant proportion of grain is purchased to provide livestock feed, which is why the development of the grain market has a huge impact on the entire food market as a whole.
Also, the most frequently imported food products include meat and meat products, sugar, tea, seafood, fats, fruits and vegetables. The peculiarity of the pricing policy for food products is instability, since the factor of seasonality and weather conditions plays a role here. Also, the appearance on the market of synthetic substitutes for natural products has a great influence on prices. In this regard, the state pursues a policy of stabilizing markets.
In our time, the consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased significantly, which served as an impetus for the expansion of this market segment. There is a forecast that global sugar consumption will also increase, and manufacturers are already preparing for new terms of trade. At the same time, the market for sugar substitutes is developing, which is gradually replacing natural products.
On October 16, World Food Day is traditionally celebrated around the world, since it was on this day in 1945 that the Food and Agriculture Organization was founded.
The main objectives of the organization are the expansion of the global economy, the development of agriculture, improving the nutritional quality of the population, and accordingly the quality of life.