FOB Prices and Freight Rates App (Updated 20 December)
Ocean Freight Comments - 20 December 2024By Matt HerringtonFreight markets – particularly the dry bulk sector - continue to see thin trade that is leaving rates in the doldrums. Demand and fresh inquiries remain light with vessel overcapacity further depressing rates. Vessel owners are continua...
WASDE Soybeans - Nov 2024
WASDE Soybeans – USDA’s latest November estimate for the 2024/25 season is a decrease of 80 million bushels in U.S. soybean ending stocks to 470 million bushels. The U.S. season-average soybean price for 2024/25 is forecast unchanged at $10.80 per bushel. The soybean meal price is unchanged at...
WASDE Wheat - Nov 2024
WASDE Wheat – USDA’s latest November estimate for the 2024/25 season is for an increase in U.S. wheat ending stocks by 3 million bushels to 815 million, up 17 percent from last year. U.S. wheat exports are unchanged at 825 million bushels. The season-average farm price is lowered $0.10 per bush...
Bangladesh Food Import Projection
Bangladesh is the third largest food importer in the world. It imports over $15 billion worth of food annually or about 11 percent of its total food consumption. Imports include 5 MMT of grain (3.57 MMT is wheat), plus palm oil, milk powder, and other products. Roughly 3.5 percent of its food i...
Interactive Ocean Freight Rates (Updated 9 August)
*** Developer Note ***This app is deprecated as of 13 August 2024 and will no longer be updated. Ocean Freight Comments - 9 August 2024By Matt HerringtonDry-bulk markets continue to chop sideways with gains one week yielding losses the next before gains emerge again. This past week was one...
Perceived Rice Shortage
Rice prices have begun to normalize after spiking recently due to India fearing a shortage and imposing export restrictions. This sparked panic buying and resulted in higher prices. The price of rice early this year was around $602/MT, substantially higher than the historical average of $381/MT...
Evolving Markets
Anyone knowledgeable about the complexity of animal agriculture, and the general public’s weariness about the husbandry and slaughter processes knows that the future is cultivated or lab-grown meat. It is the reason why some of the largest and early investors in this technology have been...
Japan Boosts Corn and Protein
Japan’s population is declining by a half percent per year and will be 2 million smaller this year than in 2020. Nearly a third of the population is over 65 years of age, adding to the lower food demand factors. Yet the latest Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreig...
Eat Your Rice
South Korea wants more rice to be consumed and is subsidizing rice for college students, the cohort least likely to eat breakfast, and is incentivizing food products made from rice flour. Rice production is dropping as population growth has stalled, but rice consumption is dropping even faster...
Grain Substitution
Grain producers saw the value of their output fall in 2023 and the best they can hope for in 2024 is to stem the bleeding. Meanwhile, Europeans are frustrated as the price of cocoa has risen more than 50 percent over the past year. Asians are frightened as the price of rice has risen nearly 40...
Fostering Rice for Flour Unsustainable
South Korea has had a problem. Its farmers insist on growing rice while its consumers are increasingly switching consumption to wheat-based products. For the second time in recent years the government has contrived a subsidy plan to reduce rice output in favor of wheat or soybeans. It provides...
Tangential Rice Market Impacts
Given current tight global rice stocks and high prices (see graph below), the question is how much wheat will be substituted for food or feed use. Rice prices have dropped since their peak early this year, but wheat is still 35 percent cheaper by weight than rice as a food grain. It is one reas...
Vietnam’s Steady Growth
USDA/FAS forecasts Vietnam’s feed demand to grow to 26.6 MMT. This is largely pushed by a 3.3 percent expansion in pig production, and poultry rising by 2.3 percent. The overall economy is forecast to grow by 5 percent this year. Over the most recent four-year period, soybean imports are...
Rice Signals Future
Global rice stocks are down just 2.7 percent this year, but the drop is larger in key rice consuming countries, plus the largest rice exporting nation, India, imposed an export restriction. This has caused an exaggerated response in price with global values rising 29 percent year-on-year. ...
Rice Constrained
The Philippines Department of Agriculture announced the need to import another 500 KMT of rice. The country is already the second largest importer of rice after China, and this purchase will ensure it is a record year for Philippine imports. For most staple commodities, this is not a large volu...
Similarities of Farming and Manufacturing
Debate around the reauthorization of the U.S. farm bill is focused on the legislation’s two major functions, domestic food assistance and farm price supports. The former involves Republicans trying to reduce the most generous portions of what amounts to 81 percent of farm bill spending, a...
Türkiye’s Higher Wheat Flour Exports
Türkiye is the world’s largest exporter of wheat flour, and the International Grains Council says the country will export a record 5.4 MMT in MY 2023/24. That is up 12.5 percent from MY 2022/23. Part of the reason is a bumper domestic wheat crop based largely on higher yield. Rains a...
Forever Poor
Dhaka’s The Daily Star reports that Bangladesh seeks to avoid the increased trade disciplines that comes with the country’s elevation above least developed status. Except for the covid lockdown period, Bangladesh’s economy has been growing at 7 percent or better each year. Off...
South Korean Beef Supply
South Korea imposed increased inspection requirements on U.S> supplied beef following the finding of an atypical BSE case in South Carolina. Atypical cases occur spontaneously and, importantly, rarely. The U.S. remains in the category of being a negligible risk for BSE according to World Org...
North Korea Food Policy
North Korea has managed to produce the largest undernourished population of any country, 41.6 percent. Like supporters of Cuba, some blame U.S. sanctions policy, although food is excluded from any restrictions. Joseph Yi at Hanyang University in Seoul calls for resuming aid and supplying aid wo...
No Rice Crisis
The Economist magazine notes that rice yields are not improving very quickly and that the International Rice Research Institute says that it is the food commodity perhaps most vulnerable to climate change. It is also a major contributor to climate change due to its methane emissions and yet con...
Thailand Rice Exports
Thai government official Anucha Burapachaisri said the target for rice exports has been raised to 7.5 MMT. The official cited both higher domestic production, and a rebounding global economy that has elevated the value of rice. In truth, Thai rice exports are highly correlated to production, wh...
Dreaming of Soybeans
Like many other countries that import soybeans, South Korea is hoping to become more self-sufficient in this oilseed. However, hope runs straight into the limits of geography. Right now the country produces about 9 percent of the 1.44 MMT of soybeans it consumes. Its agricultural area of 1.698...
Declining Population Impacts Consumption
According to USDA, South Korea’s government is taking steps to stop the price of rice from falling and to slow over-production. There will be payments to farmers for reducing planted area by 5.1 percent, and increased government purchases of rice at more than one-fifth of the crop. The pr...
Rice not Nice
India’s rice subsidies were again a complaint today at a hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee. India’s rice exports have increased by a fifth over the past decade with all of it being moved into the export market. New Delhi’s rice subsidies have been part of a long-...
Philippines Agriculture; Future Trade Policy
Philippines Agriculture After remittances from overseas, agriculture and fisheries are the most important industries in the Philippines. A country of 114 million people of which one-quarter are engaged in agriculture. It is such an important sector that President Ferdinand “Bongbong&rdquo...
Japan Approves New Safeguard Triggers on U.S. Beef
Last week the Upper House of Japan’s Diet approved a new beef safeguard protocol which amends the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement (USJTA). That is the final step of approval needed for the agreement and the two countries are finalizing the implementation procedures. The protocol was negotiated...
Wheat Concerns in Asia
Asia has been adopting wheat as a food staple over many decades but the war In Ukraine has some worried about its supply reliability. Over the past dozen years, rice consumption has averaged a 0.86 percent annual increase while wheat consumption has been growing at twice that rate. Because clim...
Free Trade Dreaming
The U.S. Congress often accomplishes more during lame duck sessions, the period after an election and before new members are sworn in, because those retiring from office converge with moderates to accomplish fundamental needs. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is retiring, and he has such a dream. H...
Alt-Meat Conundrum
Meat substitutes appear to be having trouble in the U.S. but perhaps not in Asia. Recent headlines related to the U.S. market imply a distribution chain that is a mile wide but just an inch deep. Here are some recent headlines: JBS pulled plug on plant-based meat division Planterra Foods Burnt...
No Rice Shortage
Food scarcity has been a frequent headline this year but with food inflation now dropping along with commodity prices, rice is an example of the scare that wasn’t. The monsoon was late starting in India, leading concerns that the world’s largest rice exporter would be driving up pri...
History Repeating is Okay
According to the news, multilateralism and globalization are in crisis. No less than U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently said, “it’s not hard to imagine a world where we break into these blocs again.” Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said there’s...
Feed Demand from Stopping IUR
The WTO has been searching for limits in fisheries subsidies since at least 2001. There was agreement earlier this month to curb subsidies, though overfishing is expected to continue. Now the Biden Administration says it will continue to push for rules and enforcement against illegal and underr...
Russia Threatens Vegetable Oil
Oil palms require fertilizer every three months to maintain productivity but Russia’s war in Ukraine has threatened world supplies and driven up prices. This is particularly hurting Indonesia, the world’s largest supplier of palm oil. The imposition of export restrictions by Jakarta...
It’s More Than Food
In Japan, rice has been called the essence of culture; it has meant more than just food, though food security is the basis for policy interventions to protect it. Despite the nostalgia and market controls, rice on paddy fields is declining, giving way to more profitable wheat and soybeans that...
Flailing on Inflation; Japan’s Beef Craving; Incongruous Messaging
Flailing on Inflation Many months after inflation began eating into pocketbooks, the Biden Administration is on a full court press to try and address the problem. When it comes to food inflation, there is little that can be done. It simply costs more to grow, process, and ship product. When it...
Market Commentary: CBOT Falls Early on Russian Propaganda, Recovers to End Near Day’s High
The CBOT turned lower again on Wednesday with wheat leading the way on headlines that Russia may establish export corridors for Ukrainian grain/ag products. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister indicated the country is talking with the UN on potential food export corridors in the Black Sea, w...
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework: Trade Rules without Trade Access
On his trip to Asia, President Biden announced the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) for Prosperity, along with 12 countries in the region. The plan is structured to 1) establish rules governing trade in digital goods and services, 2) create commitments regarding supply chain to eliminate...
Misdiagnosed; Potemkin Trade Policy
Misdiagnosed U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week that, “Higher food and energy prices are having stagflationary effects, namely depressing output and spending and raising inflation all around the world.” She pushed for increased international food aid and advised int...
Market Commentary: CBOT Ends Week Mixed Amid Bullish U.S., Brazilian Weather
Light volume trade, profit taking, and spread reversals led to a mixed CBOT on Friday. Wheat futures were sharply lower as showers across the Plains boosted the crop outlook and prompted profit taking and reversal of wheat/corn spreads. Corn pushed higher and scored a new contract high while so...
Market Commentary: Palm Oil Export Ban Create Soyoil High; Funds Sell Corn, Soybeans Despite Hot, Dry Brazilian Weather
The CFTC was mostly lower to end the week with funds emerging as profit-takers in corn, soybeans, and Chicago wheat. The soyoil market scored a new contract high on news of a palm oil export ban from Indonesia, however, and the KCBT wheat market strengthened on continued poor weather forecasts...
Happy 10th Anniversary KORUS FTA
Last week’s WASDE raised the forecast for beef export. A large reason was Korea, so far the top export destination for U.S. beef. Indeed, today is the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement. No other commodity has benefited as much as beef. Over the span of the agreement,...
Money Talks; Cultural Animal Welfare; GMO’s are Safer
Money Talks The Conference Board notes that it has been a record year for shareholder proposals involving environmental and social initiatives. However, the outcome of such an initiative at Tysons Foods shows that most shareholders are focused on a company’s bottom line. They voted overwh...
Not so Sweet; Not so Green
Not so Sweet The WTO last month sided with Australia, Brazil, and Guatemala that India’s sugar subsidies were distorting and illegal. India has appealed the ruling knowing that the WTO’s Appellate Panel is non-functioning, thus putting the case in limbo. However, Brazil intends to r...
Fossil Fuel Foibles; Broken Mirrors; Biden on Asia; Threats on the Farm
Fossil Fuel Foibles Fossil fuels and agriculture are highly integrated, including via fuel, chemical inputs, and commodity fund valuations. Thus, it is important to watch climate campaigners attempting to use regulatory approaches toward reducing U.S. carbon emissions. Biden Administration appo...
Workers of World United
The analytics company CultureX says that people are more likely to quit their jobs due to a toxic workplace culture than due to their salary. That may be true but a Bain & Company survey of 20,000 workers in ten countries found that compensation was the number one issue for employees. This...
Three-Year Rebuild
The price of palm oil has been rising since the start of 2021, reaching a local price roughly double the average of the previous dozen years. Production in 2021 was down around 5 percent from the historical average, but the lowest since 2016. Malaysian palm oil exports were down nearly 11...
Beef: Where East Meets West
Beef demand in East Asia is on a long-term trend upward. Fulfilling this demand has required increased imports, primarily from Australia, Brazil, and the U.S. It has also resulted in a drawdown in the regions surplus stocks. Complicating the supply situation has been drought in Australia, an at...
FOB Prices and Freight Rates App (Updated 20 December)
Ocean Freight Comments - 20 December 2024By Matt HerringtonFreight markets – particularly the dry bulk sector - continue to see thin trade that is leaving rates in the doldrums. Demand and fresh inquiries remain light with vessel overcapacity further depressing rates. Vessel owners are continua...
WASDE Soybeans - Nov 2024
WASDE Soybeans – USDA’s latest November estimate for the 2024/25 season is a decrease of 80 million bushels in U.S. soybean ending stocks to 470 million bushels. The U.S. season-average soybean price for 2024/25 is forecast unchanged at $10.80 per bushel. The soybean meal price is unchanged at...
WASDE Wheat - Nov 2024
WASDE Wheat – USDA’s latest November estimate for the 2024/25 season is for an increase in U.S. wheat ending stocks by 3 million bushels to 815 million, up 17 percent from last year. U.S. wheat exports are unchanged at 825 million bushels. The season-average farm price is lowered $0.10 per bush...
Bangladesh Food Import Projection
Bangladesh is the third largest food importer in the world. It imports over $15 billion worth of food annually or about 11 percent of its total food consumption. Imports include 5 MMT of grain (3.57 MMT is wheat), plus palm oil, milk powder, and other products. Roughly 3.5 percent of its food i...
Interactive Ocean Freight Rates (Updated 9 August)
*** Developer Note ***This app is deprecated as of 13 August 2024 and will no longer be updated. Ocean Freight Comments - 9 August 2024By Matt HerringtonDry-bulk markets continue to chop sideways with gains one week yielding losses the next before gains emerge again. This past week was one...
Perceived Rice Shortage
Rice prices have begun to normalize after spiking recently due to India fearing a shortage and imposing export restrictions. This sparked panic buying and resulted in higher prices. The price of rice early this year was around $602/MT, substantially higher than the historical average of $381/MT...
Evolving Markets
Anyone knowledgeable about the complexity of animal agriculture, and the general public’s weariness about the husbandry and slaughter processes knows that the future is cultivated or lab-grown meat. It is the reason why some of the largest and early investors in this technology have been...
Japan Boosts Corn and Protein
Japan’s population is declining by a half percent per year and will be 2 million smaller this year than in 2020. Nearly a third of the population is over 65 years of age, adding to the lower food demand factors. Yet the latest Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreig...
Eat Your Rice
South Korea wants more rice to be consumed and is subsidizing rice for college students, the cohort least likely to eat breakfast, and is incentivizing food products made from rice flour. Rice production is dropping as population growth has stalled, but rice consumption is dropping even faster...
Grain Substitution
Grain producers saw the value of their output fall in 2023 and the best they can hope for in 2024 is to stem the bleeding. Meanwhile, Europeans are frustrated as the price of cocoa has risen more than 50 percent over the past year. Asians are frightened as the price of rice has risen nearly 40...
Fostering Rice for Flour Unsustainable
South Korea has had a problem. Its farmers insist on growing rice while its consumers are increasingly switching consumption to wheat-based products. For the second time in recent years the government has contrived a subsidy plan to reduce rice output in favor of wheat or soybeans. It provides...
Tangential Rice Market Impacts
Given current tight global rice stocks and high prices (see graph below), the question is how much wheat will be substituted for food or feed use. Rice prices have dropped since their peak early this year, but wheat is still 35 percent cheaper by weight than rice as a food grain. It is one reas...
Vietnam’s Steady Growth
USDA/FAS forecasts Vietnam’s feed demand to grow to 26.6 MMT. This is largely pushed by a 3.3 percent expansion in pig production, and poultry rising by 2.3 percent. The overall economy is forecast to grow by 5 percent this year. Over the most recent four-year period, soybean imports are...
Rice Signals Future
Global rice stocks are down just 2.7 percent this year, but the drop is larger in key rice consuming countries, plus the largest rice exporting nation, India, imposed an export restriction. This has caused an exaggerated response in price with global values rising 29 percent year-on-year. ...
Rice Constrained
The Philippines Department of Agriculture announced the need to import another 500 KMT of rice. The country is already the second largest importer of rice after China, and this purchase will ensure it is a record year for Philippine imports. For most staple commodities, this is not a large volu...
Similarities of Farming and Manufacturing
Debate around the reauthorization of the U.S. farm bill is focused on the legislation’s two major functions, domestic food assistance and farm price supports. The former involves Republicans trying to reduce the most generous portions of what amounts to 81 percent of farm bill spending, a...
Türkiye’s Higher Wheat Flour Exports
Türkiye is the world’s largest exporter of wheat flour, and the International Grains Council says the country will export a record 5.4 MMT in MY 2023/24. That is up 12.5 percent from MY 2022/23. Part of the reason is a bumper domestic wheat crop based largely on higher yield. Rains a...
Forever Poor
Dhaka’s The Daily Star reports that Bangladesh seeks to avoid the increased trade disciplines that comes with the country’s elevation above least developed status. Except for the covid lockdown period, Bangladesh’s economy has been growing at 7 percent or better each year. Off...
South Korean Beef Supply
South Korea imposed increased inspection requirements on U.S> supplied beef following the finding of an atypical BSE case in South Carolina. Atypical cases occur spontaneously and, importantly, rarely. The U.S. remains in the category of being a negligible risk for BSE according to World Org...
North Korea Food Policy
North Korea has managed to produce the largest undernourished population of any country, 41.6 percent. Like supporters of Cuba, some blame U.S. sanctions policy, although food is excluded from any restrictions. Joseph Yi at Hanyang University in Seoul calls for resuming aid and supplying aid wo...
No Rice Crisis
The Economist magazine notes that rice yields are not improving very quickly and that the International Rice Research Institute says that it is the food commodity perhaps most vulnerable to climate change. It is also a major contributor to climate change due to its methane emissions and yet con...
Thailand Rice Exports
Thai government official Anucha Burapachaisri said the target for rice exports has been raised to 7.5 MMT. The official cited both higher domestic production, and a rebounding global economy that has elevated the value of rice. In truth, Thai rice exports are highly correlated to production, wh...
Dreaming of Soybeans
Like many other countries that import soybeans, South Korea is hoping to become more self-sufficient in this oilseed. However, hope runs straight into the limits of geography. Right now the country produces about 9 percent of the 1.44 MMT of soybeans it consumes. Its agricultural area of 1.698...
Declining Population Impacts Consumption
According to USDA, South Korea’s government is taking steps to stop the price of rice from falling and to slow over-production. There will be payments to farmers for reducing planted area by 5.1 percent, and increased government purchases of rice at more than one-fifth of the crop. The pr...
Rice not Nice
India’s rice subsidies were again a complaint today at a hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee. India’s rice exports have increased by a fifth over the past decade with all of it being moved into the export market. New Delhi’s rice subsidies have been part of a long-...
Philippines Agriculture; Future Trade Policy
Philippines Agriculture After remittances from overseas, agriculture and fisheries are the most important industries in the Philippines. A country of 114 million people of which one-quarter are engaged in agriculture. It is such an important sector that President Ferdinand “Bongbong&rdquo...
Japan Approves New Safeguard Triggers on U.S. Beef
Last week the Upper House of Japan’s Diet approved a new beef safeguard protocol which amends the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement (USJTA). That is the final step of approval needed for the agreement and the two countries are finalizing the implementation procedures. The protocol was negotiated...
Wheat Concerns in Asia
Asia has been adopting wheat as a food staple over many decades but the war In Ukraine has some worried about its supply reliability. Over the past dozen years, rice consumption has averaged a 0.86 percent annual increase while wheat consumption has been growing at twice that rate. Because clim...
Free Trade Dreaming
The U.S. Congress often accomplishes more during lame duck sessions, the period after an election and before new members are sworn in, because those retiring from office converge with moderates to accomplish fundamental needs. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is retiring, and he has such a dream. H...
Alt-Meat Conundrum
Meat substitutes appear to be having trouble in the U.S. but perhaps not in Asia. Recent headlines related to the U.S. market imply a distribution chain that is a mile wide but just an inch deep. Here are some recent headlines: JBS pulled plug on plant-based meat division Planterra Foods Burnt...
No Rice Shortage
Food scarcity has been a frequent headline this year but with food inflation now dropping along with commodity prices, rice is an example of the scare that wasn’t. The monsoon was late starting in India, leading concerns that the world’s largest rice exporter would be driving up pri...
History Repeating is Okay
According to the news, multilateralism and globalization are in crisis. No less than U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently said, “it’s not hard to imagine a world where we break into these blocs again.” Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said there’s...
Feed Demand from Stopping IUR
The WTO has been searching for limits in fisheries subsidies since at least 2001. There was agreement earlier this month to curb subsidies, though overfishing is expected to continue. Now the Biden Administration says it will continue to push for rules and enforcement against illegal and underr...
Russia Threatens Vegetable Oil
Oil palms require fertilizer every three months to maintain productivity but Russia’s war in Ukraine has threatened world supplies and driven up prices. This is particularly hurting Indonesia, the world’s largest supplier of palm oil. The imposition of export restrictions by Jakarta...
It’s More Than Food
In Japan, rice has been called the essence of culture; it has meant more than just food, though food security is the basis for policy interventions to protect it. Despite the nostalgia and market controls, rice on paddy fields is declining, giving way to more profitable wheat and soybeans that...
Flailing on Inflation; Japan’s Beef Craving; Incongruous Messaging
Flailing on Inflation Many months after inflation began eating into pocketbooks, the Biden Administration is on a full court press to try and address the problem. When it comes to food inflation, there is little that can be done. It simply costs more to grow, process, and ship product. When it...
Market Commentary: CBOT Falls Early on Russian Propaganda, Recovers to End Near Day’s High
The CBOT turned lower again on Wednesday with wheat leading the way on headlines that Russia may establish export corridors for Ukrainian grain/ag products. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister indicated the country is talking with the UN on potential food export corridors in the Black Sea, w...
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework: Trade Rules without Trade Access
On his trip to Asia, President Biden announced the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) for Prosperity, along with 12 countries in the region. The plan is structured to 1) establish rules governing trade in digital goods and services, 2) create commitments regarding supply chain to eliminate...
Misdiagnosed; Potemkin Trade Policy
Misdiagnosed U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week that, “Higher food and energy prices are having stagflationary effects, namely depressing output and spending and raising inflation all around the world.” She pushed for increased international food aid and advised int...
Market Commentary: CBOT Ends Week Mixed Amid Bullish U.S., Brazilian Weather
Light volume trade, profit taking, and spread reversals led to a mixed CBOT on Friday. Wheat futures were sharply lower as showers across the Plains boosted the crop outlook and prompted profit taking and reversal of wheat/corn spreads. Corn pushed higher and scored a new contract high while so...
Market Commentary: Palm Oil Export Ban Create Soyoil High; Funds Sell Corn, Soybeans Despite Hot, Dry Brazilian Weather
The CFTC was mostly lower to end the week with funds emerging as profit-takers in corn, soybeans, and Chicago wheat. The soyoil market scored a new contract high on news of a palm oil export ban from Indonesia, however, and the KCBT wheat market strengthened on continued poor weather forecasts...
Happy 10th Anniversary KORUS FTA
Last week’s WASDE raised the forecast for beef export. A large reason was Korea, so far the top export destination for U.S. beef. Indeed, today is the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement. No other commodity has benefited as much as beef. Over the span of the agreement,...
Money Talks; Cultural Animal Welfare; GMO’s are Safer
Money Talks The Conference Board notes that it has been a record year for shareholder proposals involving environmental and social initiatives. However, the outcome of such an initiative at Tysons Foods shows that most shareholders are focused on a company’s bottom line. They voted overwh...
Not so Sweet; Not so Green
Not so Sweet The WTO last month sided with Australia, Brazil, and Guatemala that India’s sugar subsidies were distorting and illegal. India has appealed the ruling knowing that the WTO’s Appellate Panel is non-functioning, thus putting the case in limbo. However, Brazil intends to r...
Fossil Fuel Foibles; Broken Mirrors; Biden on Asia; Threats on the Farm
Fossil Fuel Foibles Fossil fuels and agriculture are highly integrated, including via fuel, chemical inputs, and commodity fund valuations. Thus, it is important to watch climate campaigners attempting to use regulatory approaches toward reducing U.S. carbon emissions. Biden Administration appo...
Workers of World United
The analytics company CultureX says that people are more likely to quit their jobs due to a toxic workplace culture than due to their salary. That may be true but a Bain & Company survey of 20,000 workers in ten countries found that compensation was the number one issue for employees. This...
Three-Year Rebuild
The price of palm oil has been rising since the start of 2021, reaching a local price roughly double the average of the previous dozen years. Production in 2021 was down around 5 percent from the historical average, but the lowest since 2016. Malaysian palm oil exports were down nearly 11...
Beef: Where East Meets West
Beef demand in East Asia is on a long-term trend upward. Fulfilling this demand has required increased imports, primarily from Australia, Brazil, and the U.S. It has also resulted in a drawdown in the regions surplus stocks. Complicating the supply situation has been drought in Australia, an at...