News Updates EGYPT UPDATE The first leg of Egypt's presidential election seems to be off to a decent start. There have been only a minimal number of complaints from candidates and votes. While the expected results may not have been anticipated, at least the people had their vote. The final run-off is next month.The Egyptian government announced that it has purchased 1.1 MMT of local wheat so far this season (compared to 2.6 MMT last year) with the prices paid to farmers up about 10 percent over last year's prices. The amount of purchased local wheat is expected to increase quite a bit because of the higher prices paid to farmers versus local market prices.Meanwhile, the continuing shortage of diesel in Egypt is creating harvest problems...
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...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: WPI’s new EU rapeseed crushing margin models point to weaker processing returns over the next four months due to higher rapeseed procurement costs and weaker product values. Statistical forecasts call for German crushing margins to decline from €181/MT to €...
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.