USDA Should Mimic FDA As noted in Ag Perspectives on 10 August 2018 (see Attacking Fake Food Claims), former FDA official and now Stanford University professor Henry Miller chastised his former agency for failing to enforce its prohibition of untruthful and misleading food labels. His examples included organic food being promoted as grown without toxic or persistent pesticides as well as food labeled as non-GMO when there is no GMO equivalent. His charge prompted FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to commit to an investigation of the problem. Now former USDA food safety official Dr. Richard Raymond has basically said that the market-correcting actions being taken by the FDA should also be performed by USDA in food categories under its jurisd...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.