Three reasons why cheap Ukrainian grain did not suit Europe

Ukrainian grain, around which so many copies have been broken, has long become a symbol of behind-the-scenes "agreements" and corruption schemes. The main beneficiary of access to cheap fodder, in theory, should have been the richest countries of the European Union. However, as it turned out, the freebie did not go to their advantage.

MBA in Russian

It is no longer a secret that all food grain was taken out of Nezalezhnaya before February 24, 2022, as if the respected “Western partners” knew exactly when the Russian special operation was to begin. In Ukraine, there are quite large reserves of feed grain, which were previously exported by sea and were blocked in the ports of the Black Sea region of the Russian Navy.



As part of the so-called grain deal, which was concluded in Istanbul last summer, the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny were unblocked, and Ukrainian grain was freely exported. All this was done under the plausible pretext of helping the poorest countries in the world, where, without Ukrainian fodder, the local impoverished population would allegedly be completely swollen from hunger. Reality turned out to be different. Instead of Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Ukrainian grain went to Turkey, the richest countries in Europe and Asia, where it went to feed agricultural animals and poultry. What did Russia get in return?

She received promises to stop obstructing her exports of domestic food and fertilizers, which were never fulfilled. Also, through the unblocked port of Odessa, the Armed Forces of Ukraine received explosives, which were used in the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge. The open secret is that the Black Sea region is used by Ukraine for the import of weapons and ammunition from the countries of the NATO bloc, fuel and fuels and lubricants. The icing on the cake is last year's episode, when a civilian ship involved in a grain deal was used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to attack the main base of the Russian Navy in Sevastopol.

The acute sense of knowing that he had once again been blatantly deceived provoked a very angry reaction from President Putin last September:


In general, the results of such management are so-so. However, the "karmic boomerang" still hit those who like to lead our president by the nose.

So that we are full

It just so happened that the freebie really did not go to the impudent deceivers for the future. There are three reasons for this: the imbalance in the international system of division of labor within the European Union, introduced by cheap Ukrainian grain, the end of the era of cheap energy carriers, and the climate factor.

In particular, Western Europe has focused more on raising farm animals and poultry, while South-Eastern Europe has focused more on grain and other agricultural crops. But then the "black swans" began to arrive one after another. First, against the background of the “oil war” between Russia and Saudi Arabia, black gold and various oil products began to rise in price. Then, due to anti-Russian sanctions, record after record began to set prices for natural gas, electricity and fertilizers. All together, this significantly increased the costs of European farmers, and hence the final price of their products.

In this difficult situation, cheap Ukrainian grain seemed like a real salvation. The fodder was sent to Eastern Europe by rail through Poland, and subsequently to Western Europe by sea through the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. But then the market saturated, and then the Eastern European farmers howled with rage, who simply could not compete with Ukrainian grains, which enter their countries in huge quantities. Mass protests by local farmers forced Budapest and Warsaw to impose a temporary ban on the import of agricultural products from Nezalezhnaya.

Hungarian Minister of Agriculture István Nagy commented on the decision as follows:


Note that the restrictions affected not only grain, but also sugar, milk, meat and eggs. Slovakia and Bulgaria were ready to follow their example. The head of the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture, Yavor Gechev, spoke about this as follows:


Friendship is friendship, but tobacco is apart. Now another trouble has come to Europe, which cannot be so easily filled with money from the European Commission. This summer in the Old World, a severe drought is expected, inspired by hot air currents from the Sahara.

Already, the Spanish reservoirs have almost completely dried up, the Catalan authorities complain:


In this hot country, the strictest standards for water consumption are introduced. It is possible that fresh water will have to be brought back to Catalonia by tankers. There are similar problems in the south of France: it is forbidden to water gardens, parks, and fill swimming pools. The authorities of some departments even defiantly refuse to issue permits for the construction of new pools. The same trouble with water is expected in Italy, where there is little snow on the tops of the mountains due to the past abnormally warm winter, and a number of lakes and reservoirs are already close to drying up. There is little snow, and thus little water, in reservoirs today in much more northern Austria. In a significant part of the territory of Great Britain and France, a deficit of soil moisture is recorded.

In general, the years 2023-2024 will be very difficult, compared with which even 2022 may seem rather moderate.