Postharvest Attention: The Institution of Mechanical Engineers received media attention for its somewhat self-serving report on the post-harvest food losses in developing countries and the retail/home losses of food in rich countries. The Institution's proposed solutions to losing 30-50 percent of food production each year involves lots of engineering investment from roads to drip irrigation to behavioral changes. The problem has the highest level government attention, with the U.S. State Department hosting a conference next month focused on the problem. The solutions will involve a lot of money, which ironically is like food, in short supply despite a lot of it being printed.Action But Slow: USTR Ron Kirk today announced that the U.S. ha...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. weather is getting more attention this week as conditions vary greatly across the western, central, and eastern corn belts, with the different regions battling dryness and too much rain simultaneously. The ProFarmer Crop Tour began today in Indiana and Nebrask...
Unlike the 2022 fertilizer shock, today’s disruption is rooted less in rerouted trade flows and more in damaged production capacity, raw material constraints and uncertain recovery timelines. That makes this a longer-duration risk for U.S. agricultural producers and retailers who must sec...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.