The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) imports 40 MMT of grain each year, over half of which is wheat. Wheat represents half the calories consumed in countries like Tunisia. Food self-sufficiency is often raised in the context of Japan, but 60 percent of the region's consumed calories are imported, and the share is forecast to continue rising. A World Bank project emanating out of the food price shock of 2008 and focused on better managing future volatility has some good and wrong answers. First, the good.Anyone trading wheat in the MENA region is aware of the logistics hurdles. The World Bank estimates that it takes $40/MT and 78 days to move a shipment of wheat into the region. By contrast, it is $11/MT and 18 days to get a shipment of...
What You Need to Know Today: Cattle futures extended their sharp selloff Friday as weakening cash cattle prices, deteriorating feedlot profitability, and reduced packer demand continued to weigh on the market. The inability of futures to sustain a rally following last week's bullish Cattle on...
Markets are getting into the Halloween spirit, handing out more tricks than treats. There has been some encouraging news, but it hasn’t been enough to slow the broader slide. Now buyers need to show up with something other than another “Charlie Brown” rock for the bag. Somethi...
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.