Regional Update MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Abu Dhabi’s state owned ADQ (formerly Abu Dhabi Development Holdings) has purchased a 45 percent stake in Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC). The actual purchase price has not been disclosed. LDC has 18,000 employees and 2019 turnover of $34 billion. ADQ has increased its focus on food security and logistics since the start of COVID-19. Comments in the trade say that this will make LDC into more of an “integrated food business” rather than being “mainly trading focused” Saudi Arabia is moving closer and closer to putting grain imports in private sector hands. According to the Saudi Press Agency “private entities have been assigned the process...
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.
What You Need to Know Today: USDA reports are delayed until Tuesday due to the federal holiday on Monday. Over the weekend, President Trump announced a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Russia warmly welcomed and confirmed this ceasefire by conducting more strikes against Ukraine. Specific...
On Saturday, 10 October, at a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, President Trump said that the U.S. and Mexico would come to terms on a new trade deal, and he said Canada does not need to be part of the deal. Trump called the coming agreement with Mexico “great” but gave no d...
Key Takeaways: The United States has steadily lost global wheat export market share since the 1970s, falling from the world's leading exporter to a projected fifth place in 2026/27. The rapid expansion of Black Sea wheat exports, driven by improved productivity and export infrastructure, has r...