News Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST COMMENTS Iraq, a major importer of both wheat and wheat flour, is now expecting its best crop ever. However, this will still only supply about 60 percent of the country's consumption. Much of the imported wheat is blended with the domestic in order to improve the overall quality and produce a higher grade of flour. If the government achieves its goal of improving the quality of the locally-produced wheat, the volume of imports could be reduced. At minimum, the cost could be decreased as lower quality imports could then be used for blending. It is estimated that Iraq will need as much as 2 MMT of imported wheat this year.Iraq is also a major importer of poultry, with local production represent...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. weather is getting more attention this week as conditions vary greatly across the western, central, and eastern corn belts, with the different regions battling dryness and too much rain simultaneously. The ProFarmer Crop Tour began today in Indiana and Nebrask...
Key Takeaways: Argentina is on pace for a record corn crop and record exports in the current marketing year, with abundant supplies likely to keep the country highly competitive in global export markets. Argentina’s record exportable surplus is allowing it to offer highly competitive pri...
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.