Livestock Meat Imports Surge in May as Domestic Shortfall Increases Monthly data from China’s Customs Bureau shows that total meat and offal imports hit a record high of 556,276 MT in May, up 45 percent from 383,639 MT in May 2018.This was driven by the ongoing impact of African swine fever (ASF) combined with surging poultry prices. Pork imports reached 187,459 MT (+63 percent), while imports of lamb, beef, and frozen chicken totaled 42,036 MT (+53 percent), 123,720 MT (+41 percent), and 63,430 MT (+26 percent), respectively. A report from Rabobank indicated that continual surges in imported meat will put China’s still-limited cold chain logistics and storage capacity under stress. Through the first five months of 2019, its m...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.