Regional News Russia’s agriculture ministry announced that 900,000 hectares of crops will need to be reseeded this year after several frosts/freeze events that destroyed crops in south/central Russia. The French spring crop area is forecast to include 1.44 Mha of corn (up 9.6 percent from 2023 and 5 percent below the five-year average), and 502,000 hectares of spring barley (up 12.2 percent from last year but 15.8 percent below average). Early last week, consultancy SovEcon lowered its forecast of the Russian 2024 wheat crop by 7.3 MMT to 85.7 MMT. If correct, that volume would be 1 MMT below the five-year average. A Ukrainian scientist said that recent frosts of -2°C and as low as -9°C in some plac...
What You Need to Know Today: The June jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 57k jobs, less than the 115k jobs expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The labor force participation rate dropped by 0.3 percent to 61.5 percent, the lowest since March 2021, and the lowest in 50 ye...
As Cuba's economic crisis has deepened, discussions about the country's eventual economic and political transition have reemerged. One question that inevitably follows is what opportunities might emerge for U.S. agricultural exports. So, here’s a brief review of those opportunities, but n...
Key Takeaways Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is increasing steadily, despite a precarious political situation. The increased flow of vessels through the SOH is pressuring tanker rates, though total volumes remain well below pre-war levels. The big issue in the Strait of Hormu...
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.