Category: Agricultural Commodities
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Friday, April 01, 2011
Russia, U.S. and Indian Wheat Crops Impact on Agri-Food's / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Ned_W_Schmidt
Has been, it seems, more than a year since any supply bullish/price bearish news on Agri-Foods has come out. Latest news on outlook for Russian and Ukranian wheat was not good (Financial Times, 30 March). World will not know if either nation will be able to export wheat till the second half of 2011. While at the same time, the appraisal of the North American wheat crop, now in the ground, is lackluster due to dry conditions.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Potash Supply Stocks / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: HRA_Advisory
Cloth-dying and soap-making have employed residue from boiled plant material since ancient times. The plants are reduced to brine and that evaporated until only the useful “potash” remains. In the 19th century the active ingredient in this precipitate was fit into the periodic table as “potassium” with the symbol “K”. Potash has stuck for potassium bearing salts mined in modern times. The salts are processed into fertilizer, now 95% of the K market, which returns potassium to the plant world to increase agricultural yields. Potassium is irreplaceable in this application, so growth of its supply is considered critical to expand global food output. Potash salts are extracted in about a dozen areas, but only a few have large scale. As with other bulk minerals, the boom in potash exploration is keyed to both greater supply diversity and more capacity.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Agri-Food Price Inflation Chickens Coming Home to Roost / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Ned_W_Schmidt
Frailty of monetary policy under delusional Keynesians is evident whenever we think about Agri-Food. Price increases for Agri-Foods may be causing measures of consumer prices to rise in many countries. That "inflation," which it is not, is causing some discomfort for politicians around the world. The textbook response, per the ineffective and inbred Keynesian economists, is to tighten monetary policy, perhaps raising interest rates. We ask one simple question: How does raising interest rates cause the supply of Agri-Food to rise, forcing prices lower? Will higher interest rates keep the price of shoes from rising?
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Outlook for Agricultural Commodities / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: John_Hampson
Soft commodities have experienced some steep selling in the days since the Japan disaster, as speculative money has exited more 'risky' assets. But having enjoyed a 9-month stellar run, a pullback was overdue. Considering a broad softs ETF as a proxy, at the time of writing the complex is now nearing oversold levels:
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Food Is Fuel, Rising Food and Energy Costs Triggering Uprisings / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: The_Energy_Report
How is the bowl of Wheaties you ate this morning linked to a barrel of oil? In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Bob Moriarty, founder of 321energy.com, explains why the cost of producing food is directly correlated to fuel and picks which companies are poised to benefit from the rising value of potash.
The Energy Report: You wrote that "the uprising in Egypt began as a protest against the rapidly rising cost of food and energy." You went on to say that "it seems obvious that food and fuel are the same thing under a different cloak. Energy is food is population." Can you elaborate?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Agri-Food's Correct as Silver Stays in Fantasy Debt Fueled Bubble Land / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Ned_W_Schmidt
I said, "Scotty, Beam me up." However, the message was apparently garbled, and Scotty apparently beamed me back instead. Since it seems so much like 2008, it must be Scotty's fault. Or, is it possible that Bernanke's Lap Dogs are again distorting asset prices? Surely they must have learned something from making the same mistake over and over. Even a cat learns faster.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Growing Investment Opportunity in Agriculture / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Frank_Holmes
With the world nearing 7 billion, there are a lot more mouths to feed. Throw in that many in emerging markets are requiring higher-quality diets and you've got a squeeze on the global food supply.
Bushels of corn reached their highest prices in nearly three years this week after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that corn inventories will fall to levels not seen since 1996.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 11, 2011
Investors Should Focus on Chinese Agri-Food Stocks Opportunities / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Ned_W_Schmidt
Today a sign of true wealth is owning a horse. Cost of feeding them has escalated dramatically as Agri-Food prices have risen. Owning two horses is an ostentatious flaunting of one’s wealth. Paying an Iowa farmer for corn with which to produce ethanol is still criticized by many poorly informed individuals. They might better serve to lower food prices if they attacked the frivolous feeding of Agri-Foods to horses. Perhaps horse ownership should be banned except on working ranches. That all said, any Agri-Food shortages around the world are due to government policies. Horses and weather only serve to exacerbate the situation.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Key Wheat Growing Regions in China Hit by Drought / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Trader_Mark
Yet another example of how water will ultimately be the most important resource on earth [Jun 18, 2008: The Ultimate Shortage ---> Water] and why arable farmland is most likely the best long term (40-50 years+) investment possible. Shorter term.... after the Russian droughts/fires of last year, Australian floods this year, and now the Chinese situation, American wheat farmers should be handed a bonanza.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Agri-Food's Price Trends Diverging from Gold / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Ned_W_Schmidt
An old saying goes, "Lots of ways to skin a cat." Given the rise in Agri-Food prices over the past about four years that may be a skill that becomes rediscovered in the years ahead. While growing up near St. Louis one of the more interesting experiences was a visit to the now long shut downtown open air farmers' market. One of the rules for the purveyors of meat was that rabbits had to have the unskinned feet attached. No one apparently wanted to buy cat, and have some unscrupulous seller substitute rabbit.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Soybeans Close to Key Resistance / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Seven_Days_Ahead
Last year’s recovery in Soybean prices has so far continued in 2011. However, key resistance levels have now been approached on the long term chart which puts us on the lookout for a better pullback phase.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Food Inflation: The story of 2011 and Investment Strategy for Food / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Justin_John
Quite clearly, there is nothing more important than understanding the charts for food in 2011, esp of the primary articles. We have seen the breakouts in Sugar and Wheat futures, have done to food inflation across the world as it has crept into core inflation thus forcing central banks in India and China to hike rate, thus almost ending the dream run of the equity markets over the last 24 months.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Onion and Sugar Prices Ominous Omens of the Agri-Food World of Tomorrow / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Ned_W_Schmidt
ONIONS! Will the onion shortage in India bring down another government, as was the case in 1998? Onions in India are much like garlic in Italy, an essential part of the good life. In India, onion demand is exceeding the ability of the nation to supply onions. Price of onions has doubled(AFP, 22 December 2010). Spice prices, of which India produces half of the world's supply, have had a similar surge(Financial Times, 31 December 2010). Onions and sugar are ominous omens of the Agri-Food world of tomorrow.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Agri-Food's Impact on Christmas and 2011 Clothing Prices as Cotton Price Continues to Soar / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: Ned_W_Schmidt
Hopefully, those of you celebrating Christmas included lots of clothing in your gift shopping. Reason for that is giving or buying clothing is likely to become considerably more expensive in 2011. Our first chart below portrays the rather dramatic move in U.S. cotton prices over the past 90 weeks. Most noticeable is the price burst since late Summer, when the world discovered that global demand for cotton exceeded the global supply of cotton.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Identifying Top Seeds in the Potash Boom / Commodities / Agricultural Commodities
By: The_Energy_Report
As growing middle classes in developing nations feed the need for fertilizer, how to increase production has become the real issue in agriculture. Major potash producers are lining up to fill that need. The Energy Report spoke with Adrian Day Asset Management Chairman and CEO Adrian Day and Wellington West Capital Markets Analyst Rob Winslow to get their take on the potash sector, and which companies have the sustainable competitive edge.