News Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST COMMENTS Syria is said to be having some success with its plans to pay for grain imports using blocked funds in foreign bank accounts. While this program has taken some time to get implemented because of the complicated procedures and approvals, it now seems that some European governments and banks are being more cooperative. Trade reports indicate that the Syrian government is now able to pay for 500,000 MT of wheat that had been purchased by the official authority (Hoboob) and as much as 150,000 MT have now been paid for from blocked funds and shipped. Close to 250,000 MT are expected to load from France in coming weeks. The payment funds are still blocked overall and can only be used for imports...
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 €...
Key Takeaways: The tariff burden rose sharply in 2025 and 2026: the effective rate on imports in HTS Chapters 1–24 increased from 1.53 percent in 2024 to 6.11 percent in 2025, before averaging 5.68 percent in January–August 2026. Headline rates tell only part of the story: exemptio...
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Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.