APEC’s Bad Omen While Beijing has reportedly responded in writing to Washington’s demand for specific trade reforms, the market should not place too much hope in a Sino-American reconciliation. More indicative of the situation was a meeting this past weekend of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which was uncooperative. The meeting ended without a joint statement for the first time in its quarter-century history. At this juncture, it seems unlikely that anything reassuring to the markets will arise out of the upcoming meeting between Presidents Xi and Trump. Vice President Mike Pence made particularly strident criticisms of Chinese policies, and this will greatly please Mr. Trump since he prefers that underlings bar...
What You Need to Know Today: USDA reports are delayed until Tuesday due to the federal holiday on Monday. Over the weekend, President Trump announced a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Russia warmly welcomed and confirmed this ceasefire by conducting more strikes against Ukraine. Specific...
On Saturday, 10 October, at a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, President Trump said that the U.S. and Mexico would come to terms on a new trade deal, and he said Canada does not need to be part of the deal. Trump called the coming agreement with Mexico “great” but gave no d...
Key Takeaways: The United States has steadily lost global wheat export market share since the 1970s, falling from the world's leading exporter to a projected fifth place in 2026/27. The rapid expansion of Black Sea wheat exports, driven by improved productivity and export infrastructure, has r...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.