Miller Magazine Issue: 121 January 2020

56 COVER STORY MILLER / JANUARY 2020 minimizing adverse influence of weather. Nowadays proactive farmers make use of innovative hybrid seeds, which are more resistant to adverse weather, along with technologically advanced equipment and lots of energy inputs in the form of irrigation water, fertilizers and pes- ticides. Weather has lost the shine of its importance as a crop limiting and market rally igniting factor when it has become increasingly possible over the last couple of years to produce bumper crops under less than perfect weather conditions. Notable production gains in the past decade have been seen in the Black Sea region, in Brazil and Argentina. Among latest developments we should note the grow- ing desire of local farming companies to market their grain. For example, the ongoing trend of the last few years in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan shows local grain exporting companies on the rise at the expense of multinational companies with trading volumes steadily increasing. With 123 million hectares in arable land - the world’s third-largest area - Russia has the potential to become an agricultural superpower. Following imposi- tion of sanctions, the Russian government launched an “import substitution” program subsidized loans and tax incentives for investment in agriculture and food pro- cessing, and even state grants for certain acquisitions of agricultural equipment and agricultural advancement. There are no quick fixes. And yet, current markets are offering new lucrative opportunities for those willing to take risks, which usually go disguised for those lulled into complacency. Naturally, according to Soros, “imperfect understanding of [markets and market trends] is the hu- man condition and there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct mistakes”. In view of the ongoing trends and developments, opportunities arise for those traders, who are looking for a worthy challenge in a less conventional and more stimulating environment of the global village of today. Nowadays, commodity markets provide opportunities to use data science and market analysis for profits maximization, be it in logistics and im- proved trade flows, or increased efficiency in the hedg- ing of commodities, or in more efficient use of available resources.