Interesting, what is the main reason for this. Is it because the purchasers (which I assume are grain processing companies?) have some kind of localised monopolies on the infrastructure for storing and converting your produce into a usable form. I thought most grain producers stored their raw product on the farm, and then paid for transport to get it to market. On the international market, wouldn't there be enough competition to ensure the purchasers would be scrambling for supply in a tight market, and hence get their margins squeezed. Or is there some kind of arrangement in the contracts such that both parties benefit when prices are high, and both suffer when prices are low?
