World Perspectives

Fixing the WTO; The Winner is Ag

Fixing the WTO The 13th Ministerial Conference last month in Abu Dhabi was yet another failure by the WTO. Now Singapore has proposed a retreat to discuss fundamental fixes needed to stop the long string of failures. Ultimately, the structural problems of the WTO involve one country, one vote and the necessity of consensus. Gambia with just 1.4 million people and a $2 billion economy has the same voting power as China with 1.4 billion people and $17.7 trillion in GDP. None of the other Bretton Woods institutions have this flaw. The UN is prejudiced toward the more powerful countries via the Security Council. The bias of the IMF and World Bank is toward economic size and capital contributions.  The majority involves poorer countries a...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.595/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $5.8775/bushel, down $0.075 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.635/bushel, up $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $326.6/short ton, down $1.4...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Oil and Iran Conflict Still in Drivers’ Seat, but This Time Creating Pressure

Volatility has been no stranger to the CBOT these past three weeks, and the one consistency during this time has been the dramatic coupling of ag markets’ fortunes to the foibles of crude oil. That was again true on Monday, but this time crude oil offered a bearish – rather than sup...

WTO Realism; Reindustrialization; Canadian Ego

WTO Realism The WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference begins later this week, and while some have high hopes, pragmatists understand the elongated nature of consensus-based multinational policy development. EU trade minister Maroš Šefčovič expresses the hopes of his constituents...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.595/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $5.8775/bushel, down $0.075 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.635/bushel, up $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $326.6/short ton, down $1.4...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Oil and Iran Conflict Still in Drivers’ Seat, but This Time Creating Pressure

Volatility has been no stranger to the CBOT these past three weeks, and the one consistency during this time has been the dramatic coupling of ag markets’ fortunes to the foibles of crude oil. That was again true on Monday, but this time crude oil offered a bearish – rather than sup...

WTO Realism; Reindustrialization; Canadian Ego

WTO Realism The WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference begins later this week, and while some have high hopes, pragmatists understand the elongated nature of consensus-based multinational policy development. EU trade minister Maroš Šefčovič expresses the hopes of his constituents...

War in Iran Taking Toll on Meat Exports Globally and U.S. Agriculture

The war in Iran is taking a toll on meat exports as well as fuel and fertilizer. As noted in a letter to the Administration, “Maritime freight disruptions from the ongoing conflict in Iran pose significant consequences to food security here at home and around the world.” This comes...

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From WPI Consulting

Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming

WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.

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