The change in the exchange rate relative to the dollar is currently greatest for the Brazilian real and the Argentine peso. The only other currency that comes even close is the Russian ruble. Relative currency valuation is a major factor in export competitiveness. The U.S., Argentina and Brazil have roughly the same trade to GDP ratios, but Latin American exports are about six times more sensitive to exchange rate fluctuations than those from the U.S. due to the latter’s role as a reserve currency. Farmers in Argentina and Brazil are taking advantage of the outsized lower value of the national currencies by forward selling their production. One impact of this surge in exports is an increase in U.S. carryover stocks relative to...
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...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
Key Takeaways: Texas illustrates the assumptions underlying the 2025 FMMO reform; Idaho exposes their limitations. The Southwest order blend (roughly 27 percent Class I, 32 percent Class III and 31 percent Class IV) exposes Texas producers to every lever USDA adjusted, with a near-neutral proj...
From WPI Consulting
Communicating importance of value-added products
Facing increasing pressure to quantify the value of export promotion efforts to investors, a U.S. industry organization retained WPI to develop a quantitative model that better communicated the importance of exports. The resulting model concluded that value-added meat exports contributed $0.45 cents per bushel to the price of corn, increasing support for that sector’s financial support of WPI’s client. In addition to serving the red meat industry with this type of analysis, WPI has generated similar deliverables for the U.S. soybean and poultry/egg industries.