The headline numbers from the February WASDE – the South American production estimates – were mostly in line with expectations, which is to say the massive Brazilian soybean crop was found to be even more so. USDA increased its assessment of the Brazilian crop to a new record, which is still below some private estimates. Also hitting a new record high was the U.S. corn export forecast, now pegged at 3.3 Bbu – an absolutely massive number that will keep exporters busy into the summer. While the headline WASDE numbers were eye-popping, the futures market’s reaction wasn’t. Corn and wheat drifted sideways/lower for the day with the weight of large global stocks pressuring market sentiment. The soy complex ra...
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.
What You Need to Know Today: There has already been a strong run of flash soybean sales announcements in recent weeks, but more than 1.4 MMT reported this morning is an exceptionally large single-day total with major implications for the market. If the sales to China and unknown destinations w...
On Friday, at 6:57 AM, President Donald Trump announced, via a social media post, a 90-day window during which up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef could be imported outside of tariff-rate quotas—a move aimed at bringing down costs for American consumers. This is the secon...