If not for good export sales, futures prices would be pressured even lower. Cheap prices are encouraging some of China’s purchases. Moreover, a weakening dollar is helping. Some commercial buyers in China are paying upwards of $371/MT for domestic corn, the most heavily traded Dalian contract is over $314 and the government’s corn auction is averaging $288. By contrast, corn FOB Gulf is at $170/MT. However, Washington’s continued aggressive reactions to China’s policies bears some trepidation. Can it keep poking Beijing in the eye without consequences? Ole Houe of Ikon Commodities in Singapore says China is likely stocking before turning on the heat. The weather remains a conflicted part of the story. I...
From WPI Consulting
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.