Potatoes have taken a dietary beating for being a basic starch that raises blood sugar as fast as pure glucose. By contrast, whole wheat contains complex starch, plus protein and some fiber. However, potatoes may have high bioavailability of certain vitamins and minerals, plus other health benefits. Moreover, mixing potato with protein, fiber and even fat will reduce the relative carbohydrate load. Over the past decade or so, global production of potatoes has expanded by 1.03 percent per year. By contrast, the CAGR for global exports of fresh and frozen potato products has been over three times as much, 3.77 percent. On trend, eventually there will need to be a production response to match the demand growth, assuming domestic demand...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. and Chinese officials are expected to discuss agriculture and non-tariff trade barriers ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington later this month, potentially opening the door to additional U.S. agricultural purchases or improved marke...
The U.S. will observe Labor Day on Monday, 7 September. U.S. markets and the WPI office will be closed that day. The next edition of Ag Perspectives will be published Tuesday, 8 September...
Key Takeaways: Drought and changes to the multi-year trend in cow slaughter and retention have the potential to dramatically alter beef trim supplies and pricing, and WPI specifically models three different drought scenarios for fall 2026. Based on our models, WPI expects 90 percent lean...
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.