Passage 2
There are several common features-- which would apply to metals and minerals, just as much as to
soft commodities. Investment funds have moved out of commodities which were bought in the 1970s as store of value and into more hiquid asls. The world has got used to living with much lower levels of stocks than in
the inlationary 1970s. On the other hand, the persistence of high real interest rates has increased the cost of carrying large inventories. The long term downward trend is said l0 rle increasing efciency, bolh in the production and in the consumption of commodities. There is a constant shift in the soft commodities business, from the less eficient, higher-cost producers to their more competitive rivals. Only protectionism, for many products, prevents this shift happening more quickly, or, in the case of cffee, the Lransition is impeded in normal times by the existence of a rigid export quota system.
1. What are“soft commodities”?
2. Why is the 1970s narmed as “the inflationary 1970s”?
3. What protectionist steps might be taken to prevent the shift happening more quickly?
1. Soft commodities are agricultural commodities
2. The decade was a period with inflation as a leading feature.
3. High imports duties ，restrictive import quota or license systems, subsidies or irrationally high quality standards for import inspection, for example (举出两个例子即可)
