EU Sensibilities: The European Academies Science Advisory Council doesn’t have the credibility of Greenpeace with European media, but its message carries more weight than in the past. Behind closed doors, policymakers want out from under the bootstrap of the Novel Foods Directive. The EASAC minced no words, calling current EU regulations “no longer fit for purpose” and noted all the adverse societal costs caused by fear of genome science. If techniques for genetic improvements are ignored, it will worsen climate change, disease mitigation, hunger and suffering. Insensible Waivers: South Korea and Japan have removed their respective visa waivers for receiving visitors from each other, supposedly as coronavirus control. The...
Key Takeaways: Export sales measure new commitments for future delivery, while export inspections provide a timelier gauge of grain that is physically moving through the export system. Sales and inspections often diverge from week to week because they measure different stages of the export pro...
What You Need to Know Today: The Brazilian real surged to start the week after a surprise election result in which right-wing Flavio Bolsonaro won the first round of the election. The swing in the U.S. dollar/Brazilian real (USD/BRL) exchange rate caused soybeans to jump sharply higher in earl...
Key Takeaways: Harvest pressure is fundamentally a timing issue: supply arrives much faster than demand can adjust, creating temporary weakness that can occur across crops and regions. The intensity of that pressure depends less on crop size alone than on how quickly grain moves into the syste...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.