Economics
The Shutdown Is Giving Giant Agriculture Traders an Edge
- USDA delays key reports amid longest-ever government shutdown
- Companies seen more reliant on their own networks and research
A wheat harvest in Dekalb, Illinois.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
For the world’s largest agricultural-commodity traders, the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown feels like a flashback.
In the absence of crucial government crop reports, the likes of Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., Bunge Ltd., Cargill Inc. and Louis Dreyfus Co., known collectively as the ABCDs, are tapping their wide networks and in-depth research to navigate markets. That’s giving them an edge, bringing back memories of when information didn’t travel as fast and they had a bigger advantage over rivals.