By awakening consumers to the mundanity of the food business, one food critic and his ilk have spawned new Big Ag profits with meaningless but profitable products like non-GMO while growing niche segments like organic to the point that it is about to be relegated to commoditization.Food industry critic Michael Pollan has penned a piece in the New York Times that expresses his political disillusionment, but it also betrays the fault of his arrogance. It is a fitting revelation for anyone cocksure about their viewpoints on public policy to also consider that they may in fact be wrong.Pollan opens the piece by gloating how then-presidential candidate Barack Obama echoed his views about a “broken food system” on the 2008 campaign trail, the pre...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
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...
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.