American food marketers view Europe as a biotechnology backwater, paranoid about GMOs and a lost cause on the topic. However, there are worse aspects to the food industry, at least according to survey work commissioned by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). U.S. officials returning from discussions with their European counterparts recount an obsession with removing the chemicals used to produce, process and preserve foods. This focus by European officialdom on food and agriculture’s 20th century technologies is understandable when looking at the attitudes of their publics. According to 14 years of EFSA public opinion surveys, there has been a 62 percent increase in concern about the safety of agriculture’s use of antibio...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.