Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST COMMENTS The FAO has announced a three-year program on the “Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control”. Its plan is to raise $500 million to support this program through the establishment of a Global Action Fund which is looking for international country contributions. The program will run from 2020 to 2022 and it is expected that it will be able to call on global resources and expertise which it hopes will combat the fall armyworm (FAW) and reduce the need for vast amounts of “highly hazardous pesticides” while developing “efficient solutions” to control FAW. Pakistan’s release of wheat to millers has met with resistance as millers are saying that t...
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.
Key Takeaways: Dry bulk markets remain mixed with Capesize vessels seeing continued pressure from weaker demand while fixtures and rate strength gradually increases towards the smaller vessel classes. Tanker markets are pulling back from their recent highs as tonnage moves out of the Mid...
Inflation is back in the driver’s seat, and agriculture is getting pulled in two directions. A stronger dollar is pressuring grains despite fresh Chinese buying, while renewed Middle East attacks lift crude oil. Higher energy prices can support commodities, but they also raise expenses an...