News Updates With the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region closed for the Eid holidays last week, new developments in the grain business have been very limited. MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST COMMENTS The Egyptian government announced that it will issue fuel smart cards to 1100 companies that are major users of subsidized fuel. However, it seems that these cards will be directed mainly toward the construction, tourism and service industries as well as non-licensed vehicles such as farm equipment. There was little mention of distribution to the many transport companies in Egypt, and it is not yet clear what the government intends to do. The industry assumes that they will be provided with these cards. If not, the cost of tr...
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...
From WPI Consulting
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.