부산대학교 도서관

The grain price collapse is a result of the evolution respectively of world supply and demand for grain between the marketing seasons of 1980/1 and 1986/7. While in the mid-1970s, most experts, beginning with those of the Club of Rome, were predicting a grave shortage of foodstuffs, and some leaders in the U.S. were planning to use food as a weapon to make life more difficult for their adversaries, the situation 10 years later appeared to have been entirely reversed. With the accumulation of ever-increasing surpluses, exporters gradually lost control of the markets, which were now dominated by the importers. Some farmers tried to reduce their production costs by limiting their use of inputs. This strategy was particularly popular in Australia and Argentina. It was one of several factors contributing to the decline in yields recorded from 1984 in Australia and 1985 in Argentina. It should be noted, however, that this cutting back of production and production costs was adopted as a response in regions and countries where yields per hectare have always been modest, not to say meagre, which means in areas where wheat production is less intensive.