ABSTRACT
After setting the framework for the study of food commodities, we are going to turn our attention to the most important group of agricultural commodities: grains.
Grains include cereals, oilseeds, soya beans1 and rice. We will first discuss the physical characteristics of cereals and the production procedure, with the aim to understand how these attributes have a bearing on the economics of the different commodities. We will then look at supply and demand param - eters, and the trade patterns of grains around the world.
