World Perspectives
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Cocoa Canary

Given their inelasticity, staple agricultural commodities are a poor indicator of economic health. However, luxury food items like cocoa may be a better indicator of the world’s recovery from the coronavirus. The December contract was up about 2 percent in today’s trading but remains mired down at contract lows. It initially fell 20.8 percent during the February/March initial stages of the global crisis but dipped further this month on fears of the virus’s durability. By comparison, over that same period corn is down 13.7 percent, SRW is down 4.2 percent and soybeans are down 2.8 percent.  The COVID outbreak and economic recession hit after years of cocoa production increases needed to meet the demands of a richer wo...

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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.

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