World Perspectives

Thinking the Worst; Shameful Neutrality; New Biggest Problem

Thinking the Worst Maritime and natural resource security firm I.R. Consilium thinks Russia’s war intents could get worse and use food as a weapon. With Russia controlling Ukraine, a third of the world’s tradable wheat is in the hands of Vladimir Putin. He will also control significant amounts of the corn, barley, and sunflowers consumed around the world. The firm warns that Putin could use food as a weapon, both to coerce food needy countries, and to create yet another diversion for the West to worry about. They note that Russia’s history is rich with starvation as a policy tool.  Shameful Neutrality Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro "will not take sides” between Russia and Ukraine. In Argentina, the p...

Related Articles

Great Timing; Farm Skeptics; War’s Impact; Thursday’s Tumults

Great Timing The workers’ union at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado, is on strike. The union is demanding more pay for its members, of course, and they want the company to pay for gloves. Given the shortage of cattle, there is overcapacity in cattle slaughter, and JBS has be...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Black Sea Regional Analysis

Russian Grain Markets: 9–13 March 2026 Russia’s grain market turned firmer in the second week of March, led by stronger price action in Asian Russia, where domestic values continue adjusting higher toward neighboring Kazakh levels. By contrast, European Russia and the Black Sea rema...

FOB Prices and Freight Rates App (Updated 18 March)

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 “How To”...

Great Timing; Farm Skeptics; War’s Impact; Thursday’s Tumults

Great Timing The workers’ union at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado, is on strike. The union is demanding more pay for its members, of course, and they want the company to pay for gloves. Given the shortage of cattle, there is overcapacity in cattle slaughter, and JBS has be...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Black Sea Regional Analysis

Russian Grain Markets: 9–13 March 2026 Russia’s grain market turned firmer in the second week of March, led by stronger price action in Asian Russia, where domestic values continue adjusting higher toward neighboring Kazakh levels. By contrast, European Russia and the Black Sea rema...

FOB Prices and Freight Rates App (Updated 18 March)

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 “How To”...

China Market Analysis

Bilateral Postponement The upcoming meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is being delayed about “a month or so” at the request of Trump. He says he needs the time to focus on the war in Iran. Chinese leaders may also benefit from the extra time to assess the...

Image
From WPI Consulting

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.

Search World Perspectives

Sign In to World Perspectives

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up