World Perspectives

Sinking Ships

Russia says it expects the Black Sea grain corridor agreement to end on 18 July, though it is willing to keep talking. The Russian deputy foreign minister said that even if the agreement with the UN for Ukrainian grain shipments end, Moscow expects its agreement for exporting Russian grain to continue in force. Meanwhile, Ukraine says its Plan B is for continuing grain exports with or without Russian involvement. Kyiv would basically provide insurance or premium coverage for ships carrying the country’s grain. It isn’t clear that under those circumstances any ship owners would be willing to test Russian intents. At the same time, Russia sinking ships loaded with grain would be seen as a despicable and lowly action, especially if...

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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.

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