Annotations - volatile prices

NOMGON SOUM, MONGOLIA—A massive sandstorm is crashing in over South Gobi province, darkening afternoon skies over the village meeting house where dozens of chattering herders from far-

The opening paragraph, introducing a sense of threat and uncertainty. #dust-storms #dzud #threatened-herders #volatile-prices #china-price-fixing #pressure-for-quality -- Set up as a cluster of factors, the situation appears to be so complex that herders themselves would be unable to untangle things.

The nomadic community is one of immense pride but one with a volatile and unstable income,” said Convergence.tech CEO Chami Akmeemana. “Leveraging blockchain technology within the transformation of the cashmere industry can provide numerous benefits for Mongolian herders, buyers, and sellers alike.”

(in the "transformation" of the industry)

The company selected cashmere herders for its pilot, as herders face income instability and are oftenindebted to intermediaries for cash advances. There is also a lack of agreement on sustainability and chain of custody processes, and grazing lands are threatening the viability of the industry.

This passage links three articles; see "relation" fields in the item metadata. #volatile-prices #chenj (asia.nikkei.com) #traceability (the "lack of agreement", Financial Times "Living from Loan to Loan" -- though this is a weak citation) #overgrazing #threatened-cashmere-industry (sciencemag.org)

The cashmere market has always been volatile, but we’ve never seen anything like this before and there really is no way of predicting how it is going to develop.

Response to a question about COVID-19.

Herders face income instability and uncertainty and are often indebted to intermediaries for cash advances

Convergence's interpretations of the problem.