World Perspectives
livestock

Meat and Money

Beef and pork futures prices have been declining due to the likely sharp drop in economic growth. On a cost per calorie basis, beef can be five times as expensive as eggs, and pork can be three times as expensive as wheat bread. On a world-wide basis, beef consumption is more influenced by GDP change than is chicken or pork.  In some countries, poultry is substituted for beef when income declines, and in others the default is pork. Chinese consumers are five times more sensitive to GDP changes and their pork consumption than are Americans. During the Great Recession, global beef consumption dropped for two years in a row, pork consumption declined for one year, and the growth in poultry demand slowed. It is unclear at this juncture ho...

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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.

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