World Perspectives
softs

Princess Cotton

Global cotton production has declined, led by reductions in its two largest producers, China and India. Cotton is a heat tolerant, modest user of water, which appears perfect for climate change. It is also a natural fiber, and its oil contributes to food security. However, the fossil fuel-based synthetic fibers it competes against have grown in utility. By contrast, cotton requires a large portfolio of pest-fighting chemicals.  Genetic modification is now focused on boosting drought tolerance earlier in plant development and reducing the need for chemical inputs. It has a lot of hurdles to overcome but a lot of tools at its disposal.  ...

Related Articles

China Market Analysis

Soybean Auction Falters To make way for recent purchases of U.S.-grown soybeans, Sinograin has been auctioning state-owned reserves of soybeans imported in earlier years. At its second auction, sales fell to 62 percent of the volume offered, versus 77 percent in the first auction. And the avera...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

CFTC COT Report Analysis

Friday’s CFTC report showed managed money traders paring back long positions across the ag space as technical conditions quickly deteriorated for the soy complex and corn. Funds shed nearly 170,000 contracts from their all-ags position last week, with about 90 percent of that coming from...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

CFTC COT Report Analysis

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity markets. The data is, of course, taken from the CFTC's weekly Commitment of Traders report, using the futures only data. WPI recently completed a...

China Market Analysis

Soybean Auction Falters To make way for recent purchases of U.S.-grown soybeans, Sinograin has been auctioning state-owned reserves of soybeans imported in earlier years. At its second auction, sales fell to 62 percent of the volume offered, versus 77 percent in the first auction. And the avera...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

CFTC COT Report Analysis

Friday’s CFTC report showed managed money traders paring back long positions across the ag space as technical conditions quickly deteriorated for the soy complex and corn. Funds shed nearly 170,000 contracts from their all-ags position last week, with about 90 percent of that coming from...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

CFTC COT Report Analysis

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity markets. The data is, of course, taken from the CFTC's weekly Commitment of Traders report, using the futures only data. WPI recently completed a...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

CFTC COT Report Analysis

The following tables/charts reflect the CFTC's latest data release, which covers traders' positions through 2 December. The data are, obviously, delayed due to the 40-day 2025 U.S. government shutdown. While the positions below likely have little influence on today's markets or fund positioning...

Image
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.

Search World Perspectives

Sign In to World Perspectives

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up