World Perspectives

Trade versus Self-Sufficiency

David Ricardo’s concept of comparative advantage has not been disproven; it has just been ignored for the past 200 years. While there has been progress toward untethered competition in the post-war period, American labor unions became most vocal against trade agreements during the Obama Administration. The opposition expanded even as real median incomes grew, with the rise of China cited as the watershed that broke the free trade movement. But where is the future?  The increased opposition to imports has seen a concurrent rise in the self-sufficiency mantra. Just to name a couple of examples, Mexico has now allocated $1 billion toward promoting products produced with native corn, and China is focused on raising domestic yields an...

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Mercosur Regional Analysis

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Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.45/bushel, down $0.0275 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.35/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $11.28/bushel, down $0.0975 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soymeal closed at $314.6/short ton, down $4.1...

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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.

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