Managing Risk (AGRI90016)

Farmers, merchants, and end-users in deregulated food/fibre supply chains are increasingly exposed to risk, particularly delivery risk and price variability-volatility. Consequently, risk management needs to be an integral part of good business practice. However, there can be risk inter-change and trade-offs in risk management, which makes managing risk difficult to achieve. But without risk, there are no opportunities for business profit. Risk needs to be balanced between the risk of losses and the rewards through profit. In some agricultural industries, a sound understanding of the theory and practice of future market operations, and associated price risk management instruments, is fundamental to business management and decision-making.