The combined effects of sluggish demand from downstream users and the large surplus of corn forced Chinese processors to take significant price hits last week. Despite demand falling, they have had no choice but to increase utilization rates in order to deal with the sizable corn inventory. Oilseeds Soymeal Inventories Continue to Rise The estimated soymeal inventories for China's major crushers climbed to 882,400 MT last week, an increase of 12.34 percent compared with the previous week. In terms of year-on-year comparison, they reached 1.97 MMT for the same week in 2014, more than double last week's total. At the regional level, the largest increase last week occurred in Shandong Province where the inventories rose 182.22 percent to 18...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.
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...
Key Market Insights Macro markets delivered a full whipsaw today. Early in the session, crude oil had rallied back above $100/barrel as traders priced renewed concern over the U.S.-Iran standoff and potential supply risk through the Strait of Hormuz. That strength helped pull grains off their o...