Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt’s GASC is reported to have arranged a private purchase of 430,000 MT of Russian wheat at a price of $231 CIF. GASC has not confirmed this purchase. Egypt’s wheat imports, on a dollar basis, are reportedly up by $539 million in the first half of 2024 versus the same period in 2023. Total wheat imports in dollars reached $2.324 billion. Unfortunately, reporting imports in dollars is not very informative for wheat as reporting in MTs would be of greater value. According to other sources, Egypt’s wheat imports in MT are up by 40 percent in the first eight months of 2024 to a total of 10.1 MMT. Egypt’s Sadat City has seen the...
What You Need to Know Today: The June jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 57k jobs, less than the 115k jobs expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The labor force participation rate dropped by 0.3 percent to 61.5 percent, the lowest since March 2021, and the lowest in 50 ye...
As Cuba's economic crisis has deepened, discussions about the country's eventual economic and political transition have reemerged. One question that inevitably follows is what opportunities might emerge for U.S. agricultural exports. So, here’s a brief review of those opportunities, but n...
Key Takeaways Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is increasing steadily, despite a precarious political situation. The increased flow of vessels through the SOH is pressuring tanker rates, though total volumes remain well below pre-war levels. The big issue in the Strait of Hormu...
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.