The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) is an international financial institution affiliated with the UN ecosystem, established to support commodity development and stabilize commodity markets, with a particular focus on benefiting commodity-producing developing countries. The idea of creating the CFC was first proposed during the second session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held in New Delhi in 1968, following the advocacy of the Group of 77, which had identified commodity problems and price volatility as the top agenda item. This initiative built upon discussions from the first UNCTAD conference, held from 23 March to 16 June 1964 in Geneva.

Group of 77 and China pursued agenda items on bringing much needed stability in the, otherwise, volatile world of commodities even before their first “Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 in Algiers (Algeria) on 10 – 25 October 1967, where the following was incorporated in the Ministerial declaration.

The Agreement Establishing the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) was activated and entered into force on June 19, 1989, after meeting the required ratification threshold. The announcement of its activation was made during the tenure of Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, who served as the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. The CFC became operational in 1991, with its headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Structure

• The CFC operates with contributions from member countries, including both developed and developing nations.
• It provides loans and grants for commodity-related projects, focusing on smallholder farmers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and sustainable practices.

The Common Fund was established to improve the socio-economic conditions of commodity producers by addressing issues such as price volatility, market access, and supply chain constraints.