WPI has reported market data and analysis from Ukraine (and Russia) since 2005. We have accomplished this through our consultants in the region. If you’ve paid attention, they have been flawlessly on time every week for 17 years, until this week. We shared emails with them last weekend. They are in Kyiv and are understandably anxious. They are working to distract themselves from thinking about the events around them. We conveyed disappointment that we (the U.S. and EU) did not do more to prevent the situation. Their response? “No one can stop this maniac.” ‘Heartbreaking’ accurately defines this tragedy. Our last email from the team was on Tuesday (March 1, 2022) when they provided a shortlist of...
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.
On Friday, at 6:57 AM, President Donald Trump announced, via a social media post, a 90-day window during which up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef could be imported outside of tariff-rate quotas—a move aimed at bringing down costs for American consumers. This is the secon...
In agriculture and food processing, we think a lot about infrastructure: transportation and storage, processing and packaging, distribution and delivery. It is a physical system of roads, railroads, and rivers; concrete and steel storage; processing plants, warehouses, and machinery; and, event...
Key Takeaways: The Panama Canal’s draft restrictions and decreasing rainfall outlook are driving big moves in dry bulk markets this week. Panamax markets are sharply lower as the economics of moving freight across the Canal are deteriorating rapidly, leading to support in Supramax vessels...
Russian Grain Markets: 10–14 August 2026 The Russian grain market continued to weaken sharply during the second week of August as the Black Sea logistics situation deteriorated. Russia and Ukraine continued exchanging drone and ballistic attacks on seaports, infrastructure and commercial...