April 2023 total red meat and poultry stocks were up from March and were 2.02 percent greater than April 2022 as the industry continues to rebuild stockpiles. The big shock from this month's report, however, was the massive decline in beef supplies that pulled red meat stocks down 4.9 percent from April 2022. Larger pork stocks helped blunt the impact of this on total red meat supplies, however. Total poultry inventories rose 0.53 percent from March, slightly below their normal seasonal increase, and were up 8.9 percent year-over-year. Total beef stocks were down 15.8 percent from March and fell below the five-year average. Pork stocks were up 5.9 percent from March, a significant gain during a month when stocks usually rise just 3.2 percen...
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) enters its mandated six-year review on 1 July. The original intent of the review is outlined in Article 34.7, which obligates members to: Provide recommendations and decide on appropriate actions. Extend the USMCA for another 16 years and meet aga...
Key Market Insights Geopolitical Limbo: Geopolitical risk remained a key driver across global commodity markets today. President Trump stated that the Iran memorandum of understanding is not yet final and warned that military action could resume if negotiations fail. Both sides continue w...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.