Uppdating our websites 8/2008.
The European Council Working Party on Commodities deals with the questions relating to the international agreements and organisations for the basic commodities, i.e. cocoa, coffee, rubber, olive oil, tea, tropical timber, grains and certain non-ferrous metals.

Agreements on commodities have been concluded under the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Their purpose is to develop the trade and sustainable production of raw materials produced in the developing countries through cooperation between producer and consumer countries. International organisations and research groups have been set up for certain commodities (e.g. International Grain Council IGC, International Coffee Organization ICO and International Tropical Timber Organization ITTO).

In Finland most of the commodities dealt with in the Working Group are administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The Ministry of Trade and Industry manages the questions relating to lead, zinc and nickel and participates in the international research groups on these non-ferrous metals. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is responsible for the Common Fund for Commodities, UNCTAD issues and development policy strategies.

During the Finnish Presidency of the EU the Working Party was chaired by Director-General Veli-Pekka Talvela from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The national coordinator and representative of the Ministry is Senior Officer Marjo Riihelä. If necessary, other experts will also take part in the meetings. Topics to be discussed during the year include the International Coffee Agreement and ratification of the new International Tropical Timber Agreement.