Given their inelasticity, staple agricultural commodities are a poor indicator of economic health. However, luxury food items like cocoa may be a better indicator of the world’s recovery from the coronavirus. The December contract was up about 2 percent in today’s trading but remains mired down at contract lows. It initially fell 20.8 percent during the February/March initial stages of the global crisis but dipped further this month on fears of the virus’s durability. By comparison, over that same period corn is down 13.7 percent, SRW is down 4.2 percent and soybeans are down 2.8 percent. The COVID outbreak and economic recession hit after years of cocoa production increases needed to meet the demands of a richer wo...
A federal appeals court paused a USITC ruling against President Trump’s use of Section 122 to impose 10-percent global tariffs. A bipartisan group of 80 House members asked USTR to investigate specialty crop imports from Mexico for unfair trade practices. India notified the WT...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.