After nearly two-and-a-half years of trade negotiations over sugar, last month the U.S. commerce secretary put a hard deadline on the talks. A deal now appears within reach to be signed tomorrow.Today was the deadline for the U.S. and Mexico to reach a deal on sweetener trade, and a pact was reportedly finalized, although final consultations with the industry have yet to be completed. As a result, the deadline has been extended for 24 hours. According to a statement this afternoon from U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross: The two sides have come together in quite meaningful ways, but there remain a few technical details to work out. We are quite optimistic that our two nations are on the precipice of an agreement we can all support, and so...
What You Need to Know Today: China’s state-run COFCO, in statements on Tuesday, implied that U.S. corn exports were currently uneconomical but hinted that the Middle Kingdom would import 3.5 MMT of the feed grain this year, with 1 MMT likely sourced from the U.S. Another drone attack has...
Tanker-tracking data shows a smaller recovery in oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz than previously thought. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, speaking by video to an international energy conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said that oil moving through the strait was back to 80 to 90 percent...
Key Takeaways: While soybean, palm, sunflower, and rapeseed oils dominate global vegetable oil markets, premium oils such as olive, avocado, coconut, and sesame command substantially higher prices due to their distinctive flavors, nutritional characteristics, and specialized culinary uses.. Ol...
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.