Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA The Muslin holy month of Ramadan ends this week and is followed by the Eid al Fitr celebrations (the celebration of breaking the fast) which will be for one to four days depending on the country. Very soon everyone will be back to normal working hours and the MENA grain business will pick up once again. A court in Egypt has upheld the ruling stopping the container vessel Ever Given from leaving Egypt. A further hearing has been scheduled for 22 May. Egypt is looking for $900 million in compensation for the problems caused by the blockage of the Suez Canal. Pakistan has “officially” decided that it must import 4 MMT of wheat this year to meet all local needs. The c...
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
Dry bulk markets were volatile but ultimately steady this week with notable differences in rate developments across vessel classes. The Capesize sector, which led the recent rally in freight rates with its dramatic surge, pulled back slightly amid more cautious chartering activity, partic...
Key Market Insights Macro markets delivered a full whipsaw today. Early in the session, crude oil had rallied back above $100/barrel as traders priced renewed concern over the U.S.-Iran standoff and potential supply risk through the Strait of Hormuz. That strength helped pull grains off their o...
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.