Zimbabwe’s acting president has said that the government’s program of buying maize at $390/MT from farmers and selling it to maize millers at $250 /MT is “very economic” for the country, and there are several reasons why. Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Egypt’s prosecutors have decided that the rejected Romanian wheat shipment can be sieved to remove poppy seeds, although there is of course no guarantee that this will eliminate all of them so that the shipment can be cleared for importation. The same decision has not been announced for the rejected French wheat cargo that is still “under investigation.” Reports in Egypt that the Romanian shipment had been sieved and was ready for sale have been questioned by the trade...
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.