The first and only book to describe the seven secretive families and five far-flung companies that control the world's food supplies. Little has changed their central role since Morgan's best-selling book first appeared in 1979.

"It is difficult to imagine how the evolution of an industry, through the perspective of one of its giants, could be better told". -- Tarrant Business

In the second edition of this book, Michael Atkin examines the political and economic dynamics of the international trade, explaining to the reader how the industry works and producing an understanding of the many ironies that are apparent in the trade of this vital commodity. This edition also takes into account a number of recent developments that have affected, or promise to affect, the grain trade such as the collapse of the USSR and the completion of the Uruguay Round at GATT.

The mood of the international grain market changed remarkably in the decade before this book was originally published in 1986. In the early 1970s, which were years of buoyancy and high prices, the concern was with feeding the starving millions and subsequently, in the United states, with the use of the grain embargo weapon to put pressure on the Soviet Union. In the mid-1980s, after a long period in which the recession kept prices down, the climate was much gloomier. The book considers the state of the major supplier countries and their particular problems. It charts the changes in the market and discusses major issues of international concern. It concludes by surveying prospects for the market.