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...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
Yesterday we wrote about the Q1 GDP numbers and the June employment reports in an article entitled Real GDP for Q1 Relying on AI Buildout, Held Back by Consumer Spending. That article mentioned that consumer spending had become a drag on GDP. Nonetheless, real GDP in Q1 was revised upward to 2...
Key Takeaways: The Middle East and North Africa's arid climate and limited water resources have created a structural dependence on imported wheat. Government wheat tenders in major importing countries serve as important benchmarks for global trade, providing insight into exporter competitivene...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.