Russian Federation blocking Kerch Strait: Impacts on Foreign Trade, Political and Economic Outlook After 10 days of Russian blockage of the Kerch Strait in the Azov Sea, Ukraine announced on 4 December that it had resumed grain shipments, marking the end of the military standoff. On 25 November, Russia had deliberately blocked the strait to prevent the peaceful passage of a Ukrainian Armed Forces naval group.It had claimed early in the incident that the ships were stranded, which Ukrainian Navy Commander Ihor Voronchenko denied. The Ukrainian Navy command said that Russian border ships carried out openly aggressive actions against two Ukrainian small-armored artillery boats, the Berdiansk and Nikopol, and the Yana Kapu tugboat. According t...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Dry bulk markets remain mixed with Capesize vessels seeing continued pressure from weaker demand while fixtures and rate strength gradually increases towards the smaller vessel classes. Tanker markets are pulling back from their recent highs as tonnage moves out of the Mid...
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.