Dry bulk freight markets continued to strengthen this week, this time with the Supramax and Panamax sectors in the lead. Improved grain demand off the U.S. East Coast and supported values, alongside stronger interest in coal from South America. Baltic coal demand was also said to be “soaking up tonnage” this week. Tightness in ballaster inventories was the final factor that helped push rates higher. The Capesize sector saw rates firm as well, with miners and operators both looking for mid-September dates. Volumes in the Pacific are holding up better than expected with spot tonnage from the Far East tightening noticeably. Ballasting tonnage is weighted toward the end of September/early October with only a handful stil...
What You Need to Know Today: The surprises from the USDA’s Acreage report were a sharp reduction in winter wheat area from the March Prospective Plantings estimates and a larger-than-expected increase in corn area. The Grain Stocks report offered relatively few surprises, but quarterly d...
On Monday, the Trump Administration suspended the countervailing duties (CVDs) on phosphate fertilizer imports from Morocco via Executive Order. The CVDs were imposed in 2021 by the Biden Administration and were subject to a routine five-year sunset review. According to the Agricultural and Foo...
Key Takeaways: High oleic soybeans produce oil containing 70–80 percent oleic acid, improving stability and eliminating the need for partial hydrogenation, which eliminates trans fats. There are three primary varieties of high oleic soybeans available commercially: Plenish, Vistive Gold,...
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.