Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA: Morocco has removed the import duty on soft wheat and durum wheat until 15 June. The Morocco Ag Ministry reports that soft wheat stocks will cover three months normal consumption but a sudden jump in demand related to COVID-19 will reduce stocks. Also from Morocco, the government is distributing about 250,000 MT of subsidized barley to farmers in areas that have been hit by drought. The farmers will pay 2 dirham per kilogram which is about $200/MT, well below the current local market price. Buyers of Russian wheat in the MEA region may have to face wheat export limits by Russia. The government is said to be considering setting export limits due to a very rapid rise in wheat...
What You Need to Know Today: Agricultural commodities were mostly lower on the day, with red-hot soyoil a notable exception. Export sales were a bit underwhelming, particularly for corn with export sales down 52 percent week-over-week. The weakness in ag markets tracked crude oil weakness wit...
With the war in Iran affecting fuel and fertilizer prices, higher tariffs, weak commodity prices, ag labor constraints, and other factors, farm bankruptcies are now at a 6-year high, a signal of growing stress. During the month of April, 62 Chapter 12 bankruptcies were filed, which is a 1...
WPI recently completed an expansion of our methodology for estimating and forecasting U.S. and global soybean crushing margins. The new approach incorporates the energy market’s expanding influence on the oilseed sector and the structural changes in global biofuel demand. This report is i...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.