Yesterday, we covered the outline of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the role that plays in relation to China. Now, the Biden Administration signaled two policy moves toward China that certainly add to the complexity of the two countries’ relations. First, President Biden said that the U.S. would militarily protect Taiwan in case of an invasion from China. Second, the Administration has said that it is considering reviewing the tariffs imposed on China. With regard to the foreign policy matter of China and Taiwan, the U.S. position is already officially known as “strategic ambiguity” under the Taiwan Relations Act, where the U.S. acknowledges China’s claim to Taiwan but does not endorse it. Thus, the...
Communicating importance of value-added products
Facing increasing pressure to quantify the value of export promotion efforts to investors, a U.S. industry organization retained WPI to develop a quantitative model that better communicated the importance of exports. The resulting model concluded that value-added meat exports contributed $0.45 cents per bushel to the price of corn, increasing support for that sector’s financial support of WPI’s client. In addition to serving the red meat industry with this type of analysis, WPI has generated similar deliverables for the U.S. soybean and poultry/egg industries.
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
Monday, 25 May is a U.S. holiday, and both the markets and our office will be closed. Please note that the next issue of Ag Perspectives will be published on Tuesday, 26 May. The WPI staff wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend...
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to 11.6 million head, 102 percent of last year. Source: USDA, WPI Placements were up, but part of that is attributable to persistent drought c...