Encouraging domestic production is better than imposing import barriers, although relying on the market and comparative advantage is even better. Import Substitution Declaration Donald Trump gets castigated for his “Buy American” initiative, but (as has been stated before) nearly every country exercises some form of protectionism such as import duties, country-of-origin labeling, nontariff barriers, etc. The latest is a “European Soy Declaration,” whereby Europeans seek to become self-sufficient in plant proteins. Dissatisfied with large food trade surpluses and export volume growing nearly seven times faster than imports, the goal is to stop importing from the Americas.This kind of nationalism could be replicated by other countries. One...
What You Need to Know Today: A third U.S. border crossing (Columbus, New Mexico) has reopened to Mexican cattle imports following nearly two years of restrictions related to New World screwworm. The reopening could gradually improve feeder cattle availability, although more than 60 confi...
Key Takeaways: U.S. soybean crushing began in 1911 and saw its most rapid expansion during the 1930s amid the broader agricultural and technology revolutions of the time. After peaking in the early 2000s, the soybean crushing industry went through a downturn as poor crush margins forced...
Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Bangladesh has asked the USA for technical assistance to improve grain storage and strengthen quality testing of imported grains. Of major importance to Bangladesh is the “technology to improve grain preservation and grain s...
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.