The Agriculture Market Information System (AMIS) Global Food Market Information Group at WTO discussed the importance of timely food market information in solving multiple challenges in the food market, such as climate change, conflict, and other challenges.
According to a World Trade Organization (WTO) news article, the director of the WTO's Agriculture and Commodities Division, Edwini Kessie, attended the 24th session of the Agriculture Market Information System Global Food Market Information Group. He primarily addressed the key role accurate food information will play in the market and the role of AMIS in opening up transparency in global food markets. "These are goals which WTO members wholeheartedly support. AMIS has helped to improve the functioning of global markets for food and agriculture by ensuring that accurate, timely information is publicly available on a regular basis. This has been particularly important when these markets have been buffeted by sudden shocks, as has been the case in recent years," said Kessie.
According to a WTO news article, "AMIS is an inter-agency platform that seeks to enhance food market transparency and policy responses to food insecurity." It was created in 2011 by 20 agriculture ministers. This agricultural group unites members and other major traders of agricultural products to support the market. These eight major countries involved make up 80-90% of the global production, consumption, and trade volumes of wheat, maize, rice and soybean crops.
"AMIS is really about better decision making for individual countries. Market transparency and trade are ways to moderate shocks in the market, so having information not only about your own markets but markets around the world helps better policy decision-making,” said Seth Meyer, the chair of AMIS and chief economist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
According to WTO's website, it is described as "the only global international organization dealing with rules of trade between nations." Its primary focus is aiding producers of good and services, as well as importers and exporters.