World Perspectives

Cuban Pipedream

Some in the U.S. agriculture community have spent years trying to improve sales to Cuba, which have increased though from a very small base. Now there is even less reason to think they’ll succeed. Their pipedream has been a hungry population of around 11 million people just 60 miles off the American coast. But Cubans are relatively poor and growing more so. The city-state of Singapore has half the population of Cuba but nine times the GDP per capita and buys twice as much American farm products. The government envisions converting to market socialism but is still so redistributive and state controlled that the economy has failed to evolve. Now add to the burdens hurricanes, an earthquake and power blackouts. Its energy imports have plu...

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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.

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