EXPORT TAXES The government announced last week a permanent reduction in export taxes on major agricultural products. The revised rates are as follows: Soybeans: 26 percent to 24 percent Byproducts: 24.5 percent to 22.5 percent Wheat and barley: 9.5 percent to 7.5 percent Corn and sorghum: 9.5 percent to 8.5 percent Sunflower: 5.5 percent to 4.5 percent While the reductions amount to only a few percentage points and are unlikely to trigger a material increase in prices, they represent an important policy signal. The move suggests a more supportive stance toward agricultural exports and is viewed by the market as a step in the right direction. WHEAT Argentina’s wheat harvest advanced 15 percentage points over the past week, reaching 60...
What You Need to Know Today: The Trump administration announced new tariffs of 10 percent to 12.5 percent on imports from 60 major U.S. trading partners as part of a Section 301 action aimed at combating forced labor in global supply chains. Countries that have agreed to adopt and enforce bans...
Key Takeaways: Grain futures pulled back sharply in overnight trade Friday on rumors that Ukraine proposed two possible options for ensuring civilian vessel safety in the Black Sea. Both Russia and Ukraine have recently targeted civilian vessels carrying oil and grain in the Sea of Azov...
Just when we thought it was safe to step outside and enjoy some certainty in the world of international commerce, the Trump Administration announced on Thursday afternoon a barrage of tariffs on 60 countries based on its recent Section 301 investigations. Section 301 permits the executive branc...
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.