The June ethanol futures contract hit a record high last week at $2.29/gallon but that may not have a lasting effect on exports. The market has been in recovery mode as transportation fuel demand recovers from COVID restrictions that had sent ethanol values last year to a 10-year record low of less than 80 cents/gallon. Ethanol exports also tanked last year as global demand sunk along with prices. While the demand for ethanol exports is not indifferent to price, there are other factors shaping the market. As an additive to gasoline, ethanol demand is impacted by the price of petrol, the market demand for gasoline, and regulatory requirements for its use. Marketers have been suggesting that ethanol could fill the short-term gap in gas...
From WPI Consulting
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.