Sugar Prices Improve on GOI Intervention It seems that the government of India (GOI) has finally heeded the sugar industry’s demand and will create a buffer stock. With the Indian Sugar Manufacturers Association now boosting its sugar production forecast to 32 MMT, 2018/19 opening stocks are projected to be over 10.8 MMT versus the 8.3 MMT estimated in the first week of April (Click here). Exports are not expected to be more than 0.2-0.3 MMT as domestic sugar prices are much higher. 2018/19 sugar production will also likely be high as it is cyclical, and this will lead to further pressure on prices as the ending stocks will further rise. GOI is formulating a plan to safeguard the sector so that as sugar prices move up, the industry...
What You Need to Know Today: Crude oil prices dropped sharply with traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. There were reports that Iran was behind an attack on a cargo ship near the coast of Oman, which would be a violation of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran. Pr...
On Wednesday, the White House submitted a national security supplemental spending request for $87.6 billion. The majority of the request includes funding for the conflict in the Middle East, but there are agricultural provisions as well. The supplemental funding package includes more than $11 b...
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.