Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to stay on as Prime Minister despite his coalition government losing its majority in the upper house after an election on Sunday. Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government is a coalition government with its junior coalition partner Komeito; it fell 3 seats short of maintaining a majority in the 248-seat upper house in Sunday’s vote. The coalition needed 50 seats (one half of the upper chamber seats are up every election), yet they won 47. The coalition had 140 seats going into the election, with 91 seats among the 10-party opposition and 17 seats that were unaffiliated. A major issue in the weekend elections was the Trump Administration’s 25 percent tar...
Key Takeaways: Continued domestic demand for soyoil in the U.S. will drive prices higher and create a firmer outlook for global soybean values and crush margins. U.S. soyoil prices are set to increase 13-16 percent over the next four months as the domestic demand expansion takes hold. Th...
Key Takeaways: Tensions in the Persian Gulf are further away than ever from being resolved, as the ceasefire has fallen apart completely and the U.S. and Iran are back to trading blows. Ships are still cautiously exiting the Strait of Hormuz but at a much slower rate than just a few week...
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: Aquaculture is becoming increasingly important in meeting global seafood demand, gaining market share as wild-caught fisheries face production limitations. Superior feed conversion efficiency gives aquaculture a competitive advantage over traditional livestock production, with l...
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.