Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Egypt is reportedly looking at the possibility of establishing a wheat hedging program to better protect against the volatility of international wheat prices. The finance ministry is said to be taking a very close look at how such a system could work. The difficulty for Egypt is that margin calls on futures may prove to be an insurmountable complication. Most grain importers there do not currently hedge their needs directly in futures, although they may do so with their suppliers, as hedging is considered to be more of a risk than an advantage. Morocco has now decided to eliminate the import duty altogether on soft wheat during November-December 2018. It will then be reinstated at the 3...
Macro: Treasury Squeezes Yields, the Dollar Gives Way Today’s markets are offering a lesson in pressure: it rarely disappears — it simply moves. The U.S. Treasury stepped into the bond market after long-term yields surged to levels not seen in nearly two decades. By announcing plans...
Key Takeaways: With cattle supplies historically tight and packer margins deeply negative, beef processors are reducing excess slaughter capacity, with decisions over which plants to close driven by cattle availability, operating efficiency, and the ability to maintain high utilization rates...
Russian Grain Markets: 10–14 August 2026 The Russian grain market continued to weaken sharply during the second week of August as the Black Sea logistics situation deteriorated. Russia and Ukraine continued exchanging drone and ballistic attacks on seaports, infrastructure and commercial...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.