ITC publications bring the business voice to sustainable trade, with a focus on developing countries. We offer guidance for trade policymakers, business support organizations and small firms. Our reports offer insights to make trade more inclusive, green, digital and competitive.
The State of Sustainable Markets 2021 is the sixth edition of the annual report on the status of sustainable markets, which the International Trade Centre (ITC) has been publishing jointly with the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and the International Institute for Sustainable...
Investment facilitation is key to a post-pandemic recovery and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This publication combines insight and analytical expertise relevant to negotiating and implementing investment facilitation for development. It is intended to support the WTO negotiation on...
The question of how standards impact trade is more relevant than ever. Against the background of a world economy that is global in scope and organization with economic activities being spread across national boundaries, the liberalization of trade has been one factor contributing to a policy shift...
African tech hubs play an important role in building fledgling entrepreneurial ecosystems and helping start-ups, but they struggle to earn revenue and become financially sustainable. This report, based on interviews with dozens of hubs across Africa, examines what hubs do, how they make an impact...
This report on the ITC World Export Development Forum on Consumers, Ethics and Environment (October 2008), reflects on what ethical trade means, the growth in the global fair trade and ethical markets, how entrepreneurs in developing countries can break into these markets, and what trade support...
A review of trade flows, value chain, sustainability, illegality and animal welfare of the trade in South-East Asian python skins. The paper analyses reported trade in python skins, the added value at each stage from hunting to retail and likely areas of illegal activity (smuggling, false...
Coffee is the world's most important agricultural crop in terms of trade volumes; it is exported by 60 countries and is one of the few major commodities grown predominantly by smallholder farmers. This report: presents an overview of the market trends for coffee certified as ‘sustainable’ over...
African tech hubs – now more than 1000 across the continent – accelerate digital, social and economic transformation as they support start-ups. The report examines the COVID-19 impact on tech hubs and offers recommendations for future operations. It surveys 52 tech hubs across...
Greater access to information about export opportunities is essential for determining SME export success.SMEs which participate in international trade are more productive than those which do not. Integration into global and regional markets is thus likely to help close the productivity gap between...
Literature review of interdependencies between public and private standards. It focuses on how governments could engage with private standards to impact their legitimacy and significance in the market; provides examples of complementarities between public and private standards. Part three of a...
Private sustainability standards can be an effective tool to foster sustainable development. This paper outlines conditions for sustainability and potential obstacles. Private sustainability standards can bring benefits to producers and the supply chain. This literature review analyses why the...
