Building demand becomes a central focus during times of abundant resource surpluses. Asia is the easiest due to its demographics and GDP growth but there is a renewed look at Africa. Countries like Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tanzania and Ghana all have economies growing at 6.5 percent and higher. Many are traditional markets for importing rice and wheat, but they have been under-consumers of beef, pork and chicken. Chicken imports have been growing due to its lower cost, but the tipping point will come when beef and pork are affordable to a rising middle class. Europe has traditionally been well represented on the continent, and the Chinese have now moved in aggressively. The development and assistance agencies in the U...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
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.