Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Egypt’s Agricultural Bank is putting up EGP 4 billion (about U.S. $254 million) “to mitigate the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic”. All accounts with debts and defaults up to EGP 100,000 (U.S. $6,400) in November 2021 will have the debt cancelled. This is in addition to the bank’s previous announcement of the cancellation of debts up to EGP 25,000. The program is expected to benefit at least 45,000 customers of the bank. Egypt and Russia are discussing setting up a wheat duty-free logistic zone in Egypt that could hold up to 1 MMT of wheat. There is talk of forming a joint grain trading operation that would supply wheat to Egypt and neighbor...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.