World Perspectives

U.S. Ag Trade Deficit and Meat Outlook

According to USDA’s latest agricultural trade data, the overall ag trade balance in March was negative. The U.S. ran a trade deficit of $502 million for the month, based on exports of $11.885 billion and imports of $12.386 billion. It is only the sixth time in the past 63 months, but second time in 2020 and the fourth time in the past 12 months.

The trade data come at a particularly significant time as there are commodity surpluses in the U.S., exacerbated by the COVID-19 situation, but also looming food shortages particularly in the protein sector. A number of major retailers are moving to place limits on consumers’ purchases of beef, pork, and poultry, and Brazilian and Australian packers are eyeing the retail shortages as...

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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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