Cultural History April Kicks Off with Annual Qingming Festival or Ancestors’ Day China’s domestic market began the first full week of April on a subdued note with the Qingming holiday or Tomb-Sweeping Day falling on Tuesday. This resulted in much of the country taking a long-weekend break to visit with family and pay respects to their ancestors who have passed on to the afterlife. The colloquial term – Tomb-Sweeping Day – illustrates exactly what occurs, as China’s citizens from all walks of life pay respect to their ancestors by sweeping their tombs and gravesites and then providing offerings of tea, food, and other gifts as an act of the Confucian tradition of filial piety. The holiday is not confined to Ch...
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to 11.6 million head, 102 percent of last year. Source: USDA, WPI Placements were up, but part of that is attributable to persistent drought c...
Let’s return briefly to the fake meat hype cycle, now sitting somewhere in a dusty corner of your mind, not entirely forgotten. What happened to all those products, known as plant-based alternative proteins? They were supposed to be as good as real meat—cheaper, more environmentally...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.