This is a busy week with bilateral exploratory trade talks in Tokyo where American expectations are high and the Japanese are resistant as Prime Minister Shinzō Abe may have just kicked sand in Trump’s face. Trump’s Twists and Turns Interpreting the direction of global trade and security is becoming more difficult by the day. Donald Trump had campaigned as a mercantilist willing to bend trade rules more to U.S. favor while concurrently reducing the nation’s “over-commitment” on foreign security matters. Some say it is the sobering reality of the Oval Office, but Trump’s offer to concede better trade terms and currency manipulation to the Chinese in exchange for their intervention with North Korea induces a form of policy whiplash.This is...
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.