Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Saudi Arabia received a 60,000 MT barley shipment from Australia financed by a joint arrangement between Salic Group and Mansour Al-Mosaid Company and the Saudi Agricultural Development Fund. This is being done under Saudi’s Vision 2030 plan and the Public Investment Fund Program (PIF). Egypt’s foreign reserves are reported by the Central Bank to have dropped by 16.5 percent from levels in January 2022. However, reserve levels are up slightly – less than 1 percent – from the December 2022 level. Payment in foreign currency for imports, like grains, remain very, very difficult for the private sector. Egypt’s farms and tra...
What You Need to Know Today: Markets got a surprise with a corn yield of 181.2 bushels/acre in the October WASDE, above the average estimate of 177.6 bushels/acre and up from USDA’s September estimate of 178.5 bushels/acre. Although stronger demand is expected to absorb some of the addit...
The USDA has lowered its 2026 red meat production forecasts slightly while forecasting a slight increase in broiler production. Beef is now projected at 24.802 billion pounds, 75 million pounds less than in September. Cow slaughter is expected to be up; however, this will be offset by lower ste...
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.