David McKee

Strategic grain reserves

Middle EastSub-Saharan AfricaSouth AsiaEast Asia and Southeast AsiaConclusion The world economic crisis at the end of 2008 led to a profound distrust of financial markets, particularly among the developed countries that were impacted the most. Similarly, the twin price spikes …

What’s next for Russia?

The world needs Russian wheatInfrastructure gapsUnited grain companyDomestic industryState interventionsFeed and meat industryMarket friendly alternativeConclusion On Aug. 15, 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin issued a decree halting all Russian wheat exports effective immediately. Export contracts for millions of tonnes …

Sudan – Booming market for wheat

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for just 14% of the world wheat trade and a small fraction of all consumption. But in coming decades, demand from the region will result in the lion’s share of increases in global wheat production and trade. This …

Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan Province, China

Photos from my trip to China.

Companies race for rice market supremacy

China produces over 190 million tonnes of paddy rice per year, most of which is traditionally processed at the township level by up to 100,000 mills. It is the largest staple food crop grown and consumed in any country. Now …

IAOM Eurasia Conference

This year’s IAOM Eurasia District Conference was held in October at the Rin Grand Hotel in Bucharest, Romania. More than 300 people from 27 countries attended the third annual International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) Eurasia District Conference, Oct. 9-21, …

Millers gather in Tanzania

IAOM Mideast & Africa Conference The 19th Annual International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) Mideast and Africa District Conference and Expo, held for the first time in a sub-Saharan country, drew nearly 500 participants and 60 exhibitors to the city …

Focus on the Netherlands

Compound feed production, on a per capita basis, ranks among the highest in the world. Two things distinguish the Netherlands demographically. It is the most densely populated country in Europe (among those with over 500,000 inhabitants), and somewhat counter-intuitively for …

Under attack

The Canadian Wheat Board is in an intense battle to maintain its wheat and barley trading monopoly. The Canadian prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been the source of 15% of all wheat, 55% of durum wheat and …

Morocco

North African nation is experiencing rapid growth in its feed and meat industries. An hour’s drive inland from the rapidly growing metropolis of Agadir, Morocco, a major agricultural cooperative, Copag, has begun a pilot program for confined feeding of cattle. …