The U.S. trade community already likes Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Michael Punke, and today he reinforced why as he treated Washington's business bunch with straight talk about where things stand in Geneva. He acknowledged that there can be no meeting of the minds in the Doha negotiations over things like non-agricultural market access (NAMA), and agricultural subsidies and market access. He is relatively optimistic that a trade facilitation package can be assembled for the ninth ministerial to be held in Bali in December, and that this could deliver 40 percent of the expected trade benefits of the larger Doha ambition. However, he noted that the larger the clarity on the topic, the greater the number of gaps that get revealed.Perhap...
Key Takeaways: Brazil confirmed a Newcastle disease outbreak at a commercial turkey farm in Santa Catarina on 18 October, raising concerns about potential disruptions to poultry exports despite the outbreak being confined to a single facility thus far. Mexico and Malaysia have imposed nationwi...
Yesterday, Alberta held a referendum on whether to begin the process toward independence from Canada. With more than one million votes counted as of early Tuesday morning, around 77 percent supported remaining in Canada, and 23 percent voted to start the process of separation, according to unof...
What You Need to Know Today: Harvest pressure in the U.S. sent corn and soybeans lower as supplies increased and there were signs USDA’s upward revisions to yields in the October WASDE could be close to right. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated over the weekend, with Ukrai...
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.