Grain traders in Europe are saying that Germany, Poland and the Baltic states will be replacing France as the major exporters of wheat to North Africa and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, one African nation intends to procure white maize from Mexico as nearby supplies are not available. Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Grain traders in Europe are saying that Germany, Poland and the Baltic states will be replacing France as the major exporters of wheat to North Africa and Saudi Arabia. Germany is said to have a good level of wheat export business booked for the first quarter of 2017. Argentina too is looking at boosting its wheat exports to North Africa, but experts say that its business there will be limited.Last week’s FAO re...
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.
Beef packer margins improved to -$130/head last week, up $44 from the prior week as sharply lower fed cattle prices more than offset continued seasonal weakness in the Choice cutout. The cutout declined to $373/cwt while fed cattle prices fell to $238/cwt, allowing packer spreads to recover for...
What You Need to Know Today: The conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues to escalate with the two sides exchanging attacks over the weekend. President Trump said Iran “will pay” for recent attacks that claimed the lives of U.S. troops stationed in Jordan. There are some signs...