High maize prices in South Africa have in turn pushed up local poultry prices, leading to an expected notable increase in poultry imports this year and an additional 8 percent in 2017. Meanwhile, a recent report indicates Morocco's grain situation is even worse than expected. MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS The Central Bank of Egypt(CBE) has advised that it will be supplying funds from its USD reserve to support the import of basic commodities. The government wants to build a reserve stock of these essentials in order to use them to try to control their price inflation. The commodities specifically mentioned were wheat, rice, meat, cooking oil, sugar and poultry. There is also some thought that this may be occurring in advance of a dev...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.