EconomyDeflation continues to be a problem with the Producer Price Index declining in November for the 26th month in a row. Consumer inflation was expected to increase 0.5 percent after rising 0.3 percent in October, but instead it rose by just 0.2 percent, a five-month low. Despite economic softness, the price of pork rose 13.7 percent and fresh vegetable prices were up 10 percent. 12112024china_cpi.png 22.35 KBOilseedsThe General Administration of Customs said soybean imports in November totaled 7.15 MMT, a 9 percent drop year-on-year, but a record volume for the year is still expected. The December update of the Chinese Agricultural Supply & Demand Estimates (CASDE) reduced expected 2024/25 edible oil imports by 700 KMT to 7.73...
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
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.