Corn production in Sub-Saharan Africa has been volatile for decades but when technology and investment should have been making it less so, it has instead gotten worse.
This year’s El Niño has helped make a bad situation worse. USAID’s Famine Early Warning System Network identified the problem many months ago when rainfall during December- February, the normally peak precipitation months, was underwhelming. The agency predicted “crisis level” food aid requirements in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar.
South Africa has had to import white corn for the first time since 2017, and Zambia’s corn crop was down by 50 percent and could require 1 MMT in imports. The situation could rev...
What You Need to Know Today: Agricultural commodities were mostly lower on the day, with red-hot soyoil a notable exception. Export sales were a bit underwhelming, particularly for corn with export sales down 52 percent week-over-week. The weakness in ag markets tracked crude oil weakness wit...
With the war in Iran affecting fuel and fertilizer prices, higher tariffs, weak commodity prices, ag labor constraints, and other factors, farm bankruptcies are now at a 6-year high, a signal of growing stress. During the month of April, 62 Chapter 12 bankruptcies were filed, which is a 1...
WPI Grain Prices and Freight Rate App Note: you can also visit the app directly by clicking here. Supplemental Information The section below offers a concise view of the options available in the current version of the WPI FOB Price and Freight Rate app, along with a short “...