Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region The 2025 dates for Ramadan are estimated to be 28 February until 30 March. The actual dates will depend on the location of each country. Egypt’s government hopes to increase its local wheat purchases in 2025 by 11 percent to about 4 MMT. Total wheat consumption in Egypt is seen at 20 MMT for 2025 with imports accounting for about 14 MMT. Bangladesh reports that wheat plantings are down by 8 percent for 2024/25 as farmers switch to more profitable crops, like maize and potatoes. Total wheat planted area has dropped by 35 percent since 2016 while maize planting continues to increase, driven by increased animal feed demand. Turkey’s rainfall at the end of 2024 and the...
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.