India is the world’s largest exporter of rice and Refinitiv points out that India’s export rice prices have been consistently lower than that of Thailand and Vietnam for the past two years. India is exporting roughly twice the amount of rice as Thailand and Vietnam combined. India has a competitive edge since its domestic rice reference price is 15 and 20 percent lower than the producer prices in Thailand and Vietnam, respectively. India has also maintained a higher stocks to use ratio than these competing suppliers, thus justifying its lower pricing. Moreover, higher prices due to global food security concerns coupled with a predicted normal monsoon means that India’s farmers will once again produce a large, export...
Key Takeaways: A student group from the University of Chicago is protesting to bring back onion futures trading. Trading in onion futures was banned in 1958 following a spectacular bout of market manipulation that resulted in a corner of the physical market. The ban on onion futures led t...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.