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...
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.
What You Need to Know Today: End-of-month profit taking sent the CBOT broadly lower, though corn and soybeans managed to post small gains to continue their rallies. Turkey’s foreign ministry claimed to have a plan to ensure safe passage for both Ukrainian and Russian grain vessels via th...
Developer's Note 24 August 2026: WPI recently completed an exercise that updated the codebase for this app and solved some of the discrepancies between our five-year average calculation and USDA's. There are a few lingering cases where early (late) starts (finishes) to the crop cycle resu...
Key Takeaways: Corn and soybean prices rallied sharply last week as declining U.S. production expectations collided with strong demand, raising the prospect of tighter supplies and leaving the market with a smaller margin for further yield losses. The USDA’s lower August yield estimates...