The state governments in India have taken effective steps over the past few months to control the supplies and costs of pulses in the face of a potentially high deficit, and there have been other resulting economic benefits as well. Lower Lentil/Pulses Prices Good for Domestic Market The state governments in India became strict over the past few months, implementing stock limits on pulses, organizing raids and releasing the confiscated supplies in the market. The fear tactics worked as the wholesale prices of tur (pigeon pea), urad (black lentil) and masoor (red lentil), which are the main pulses, have declined 37.5 percent, 24.62 percent and 33.21 percent, respectively, from their peak in the third week of October 2015. However, retail p...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. launches naval escort operations in the Strait of Hormuz as Iran attacks UAE oil infrastructure, escalating geopolitical risk and supporting energy and broader commodity markets Biofuel demand entering uncharted territory, with soyoil valuation increasingly di...
The Middle East is said to be undergoing a transformation as economic priorities transcend security concerns. This is evidenced by diversification away from oil and the UAE’s departure from OPEC. Meanwhile, the Palestine issue has been deprioritized, and Iran has emerged as more destabili...
CORN Argentina In Argentina, after several weeks of intense and frequent rainfall, weather conditions have improved, with clear days, dry cold, and wind supporting both soil and grain drying. Harvest activity has resumed; however, producers continue to prioritize soybeans, limiting progress in...
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.