Last week the Trump administration announced it would investigate aluminum imports, and today it added China’s relative protection of intellectual property rights. This has prompted conclusions that are driven by the president's public musings.Last week the Trump administration announced it would investigate aluminum imports, and today it added China’s relative protection of intellectual property rights. The newspaper headlines pronounce fears of a trade war and speculation as to whether it is intended to pressure Beijing over North Korea. Administration officials insist the two are not connected, and this is likely the case, but it is another example of where Trump’s public musings are the cause of such conclusions. After all, it is the pr...
Key Takeaways: Drought remains a major threat to global agricultural production, particularly in regions with limited rainfall and growing water scarcity. Commercially available drought-tolerant traits in corn, soybeans, and wheat have generally delivered modest yield improvements, limiting th...
Key Takeaways: Peace at last in the Persian Gulf? Over the weekend, the U.S. announced and Iranian officials confirmed a peace agreement, with formal ratification set for Geneva on 19 June. The announcement means the Strait of Hormuz is set to reopen fully and toll-free within 30 days.&n...
WPI Grain Prices and Freight Rate App Note: you can also visit the app directly by clicking here. Supplemental Information The section below offers a concise view of the options available in the current version of the WPI FOB Price and Freight Rate app, along with a short “...
Key Takeaways: China has invested heavily in the Port of Chancay to strengthen trade links between South America and Asia. The port could reduce shipping times to China by up to two weeks and improve export competitiveness. Inland transportation infrastructure remains the primary obstacle to r...
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.