According to the latest reports from Morocco, the 2016 wheat harvest could be 54 percent smaller than last year with possibly the lowest levels in four years. It is expected that wheat imports will need to double to about 4.8 MMT this year. Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS As if there were not enough problems in Yemen these days, now the trade reports that it is becoming increasingly difficult to finance grain shipments to that country. Sellers must search extensively to find an international bank that will confirm a Yemeni letter of credit (l/c), assuming that the buyer has the ability even open one. The government of Yemen has also reduced the number of items that can obtain a “special” foreign exchange rate with whe...
What You Need to Know Today: Agricultural commodities were mostly lower on the day, with red-hot soyoil a notable exception. Export sales were a bit underwhelming, particularly for corn with export sales down 52 percent week-over-week. The weakness in ag markets tracked crude oil weakness wit...
With the war in Iran affecting fuel and fertilizer prices, higher tariffs, weak commodity prices, ag labor constraints, and other factors, farm bankruptcies are now at a 6-year high, a signal of growing stress. During the month of April, 62 Chapter 12 bankruptcies were filed, which is a 1...
Food Inflation The Open Markets Institute, which is notably funded by several “anonymous” donors and liberal foundations, obtained a guest editorial in the New York Times in which they blame agribusiness concentration for higher grocery prices. This is their schtick and it is politi...
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.