Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA COMMENTS Egypt has said that wheat production for 2020 should reach about 9.5 MMT with between 3.0 and 3.5 MMT being purchased by the government. According to U.S. export inspection information, Egypt’s purchase of U.S. soybeans doubled this week to about 172,000 MT. Morocco is suffering from its second drought year in a row with wheat production expected to be as much as 40 percent below average. Official numbers from Morocco see a drop of 4.3 percent in total agriculture production and growth of only 2.3 percent compared to more normal levels of 4.6 percent growth, all of this is said to be due to reduced grain production. In 2019, Morocco spent $960 million on wheat import...
What You Need to Know Today: New World screwworm is back in the headlines after new cases were found in a hunter-harvested elk in Texas and a beef cow in New Mexico. The detection in wildlife could further complicate containment efforts, as implementing effective biosecurity measures is consid...
Cattle on Feed Expectations USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report that will show cattle inventory statistics as of 1 October will be released tomorrow, 23 October. Analysts’ pre-report consensus estimates are for the total inventory on feed to be 100.3 percent of last year, which imp...
Key Takeaways: Dry bulk markets remain mixed with Capesize rates turning around from their recent weakness and posting solid gains on improved Chinese demand. Panamax vessels, on the other hand, saw rates decline amid greater tonnage availability in the South Atlantic and falling U.S. Gu...
From WPI Consulting
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.