Russian Grain Markets: 11-15 April 2022 The Russian Ministry of Agriculture reported expectations that spring crops will be planted on 81.3 Mha of land, an increase of 1 Mha from last year. Agriculture Minister Dmitriy Patrushev expects the crop to reach 123 MMT, with wheat accounting for 80 MMT. Although sanctions are affecting the Russian agricultural sector, previously imported seeds, fertilizers, and chemicals should be sufficient for the spring planting campaign. This is especially true if China, one of Russia’s main trading partners in agricultural chemicals, keeps its doors open for economic cooperation. As of early April 2022, Russia planted 542,000 ha of spring crops and fertilized 6 Mha of winter crops. The Ministry is con...
The US election is over, but the market’s debate is just beginning. A shift in Washington’s balance of power is changing policy expectations, while developments involving Iran and an early decline in the dollar are adding to the uncertainty. Now traders must decide how much of that...
Key Takeaways: The 2026 U.S. Midterm elections surprised many pundits and have created significant changes in how agriculture and major agricultural production states will be represented in Congress. Details on how candidates expect to address agricultural issues are still limited, and no offi...
Key Takeaways: Japan’s mountainous geography and limited farmland constrain domestic agricultural production, while its highly developed economy and substantial purchasing power make it one of the world’s most important agricultural import markets. Japan’s calorie-based food...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.