Russian Grain Markets: 9–13 October 2023 After weeks and weeks of bearish sentiments the market is finally coming to relative stability because farmers can afford to sit on their stocks, and most of the multinational trades are not currently doing business in Russia. Local old and new oligarch fed grain trading businesses are not prepared to pay a better price, believing that they have a monopoly in many different regions of the country and monopolized some river and sea trade as well. This trend is continuing as those multinational companies which left Russia are being replaced by Russian “partners”. Russian traders are complaining about cheap grain from Ukraine which is true as farmers in Ukraine have little choi...
What You Need to Know Today: Crude oil prices dropped sharply with traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. There were reports that Iran was behind an attack on a cargo ship near the coast of Oman, which would be a violation of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran. Pr...
On Wednesday, the White House submitted a national security supplemental spending request for $87.6 billion. The majority of the request includes funding for the conflict in the Middle East, but there are agricultural provisions as well. The supplemental funding package includes more than $11 b...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.