WTO Leadership Criteria Candidates to become the next leader of the WTO have begun taking turns before the body and pitching why they should be selected. Jesus Seade (Mexico) blamed a lack of WTO resources and said he would emphasize development. Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh (Egypt) blamed a lack of ideas of how to deal with Special and Differential Treatment, and the Appellate Body. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala (Nigeria) advised rebuilding trust, ensuring disciplines on transparency and notifications, and ending export restrictions on food and medicine. There is a wide chasm in the WTO to bridge. The easiest approach for candidates is to talk about development. Most members are self-described developing countries and they are desperate to hang on to their...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.