next to these market fundamentals there are other factors that may contribute to price volatility for more information see chapter special feature what is driving price volatility while weather shocks pests or other natural calamities and limited access to technologies play an important role those factors are exacerbated by often poorly functioning markets that could smooth out local production shortfalls poor infrastructure high transport costs absence of credit or insurance markets may compound the initial difficulty for exporting countries heavily dependent on agricultural commodities exceptionally low prices will have immediate balance of payments impacts but beyond that uncertainty may curtail investment and affect capacity utilization