China’s National Bureau of Statistics reports that pork production increased 4.6 percent in 2023 to 57.94 MMT. This makes the fourth consecutive year of production increases since the trough of 2019 at the height of the African Swine Fever outbreak. Over 80 percent of soybeans in China are processed into meal as feed ration, mostly for hogs. However, the soybean consumption data and pork production do not evenly align. The government has been discouraging farmers from feeding soybean meal, despite it providing more optimal protein in the ration. Yet hog slaughter was up 3.8 percent last year to 726.62 million hogs, implying some productivity gain despite the government’s discouragement of using soybean meal. It should als...
What You Need to Know Today: Markets got a surprise with a corn yield of 181.2 bushels/acre in the October WASDE, above the average estimate of 177.6 bushels/acre and up from USDA’s September estimate of 178.5 bushels/acre. Although stronger demand is expected to absorb some of the addit...
The USDA has lowered its 2026 red meat production forecasts slightly while forecasting a slight increase in broiler production. Beef is now projected at 24.802 billion pounds, 75 million pounds less than in September. Cow slaughter is expected to be up; however, this will be offset by lower ste...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.