Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Libya imports about 90 percent of its grain needs every year with total imports for 2022/23 forecasted by the FAO to be at 3.2 MMT, about the same as last year. More than 50 percent of Libya’s imports of wheat, barley, and maize have come from the Ukraine and Russia in the past. Libya imports about 1.55 MMT of wheat. 1 MMT of barley and 650,000 MT of maize. Saudi Arabia’s SAGO is reported to have purchased about 35,000 MT of locally grown wheat so far this season. Egypt reports that its wheat reserves are at seven months consumption. Egypt officials say that the 180,000 MT wheat purchase from India is still valid but that the wheat has not bee...
What You Need to Know Today: Iran says its definition of the Strait of Hormuz is now a “vast operation area” that stretches from Jask to Siri Island. The White House said President Trump did not sign a suspension of the TRQs on beef imports but is “finalizing potential...
If the media headlines and Trump critics are to be believed, President Trump is headed to Beijing this Thursday in a weakened position. China is in control, it has the upper hand, and expectations are very low. These are the same critics that argue against overly simplistic zero-sum analyses in...
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.