Posted on 10/29/2017 5:59:56 PM PDT by ameribbean expat
Wow, very good. I was thinking the Norks’ northern neighbor was China all the way across but Russia does get a tiny piece in the very northwest.
They managed to starve 30 million people to death in the Ukraine, a breadbasket of the world.
Remember the famous Wheat Deal...sometime in the 1980’s
Much of that was not incompetence.
From the article: “A massive harvest is underway in Russia for wheat and other grains. In fact, the possibly record production is so huge, current infrastructure cannot keep up and may slow exports, simply from lack of ability to get the grain to ships. Ports and railways are bursting with product; there is almost no storage left, leaving the country to secure storage overseas.”
The abandonment of collective farming has apparently led to a massive increase in agricultural production in Russia. Likely by the the introduction of private land ownership and stewardship. The collective laborers worked their 40 hours and quit to drink their vodka. The harvest laid waste until the state assigned workers from schools or the big city to help. Private stewardship requires that the owner or tenant work as many hours as necessary to maximize the harvest.
It’s not a grain excess, it’s a lack of oil exports. You don’t sell off your food unless you are absolutely desperate. With the Russian economy based on 75 dollar a barrel oil, they are screwed.
This is a prelude to war.
The art of the deal. One ton of bread for one ton of uranium.
This is a case of “capitalism”, the profit in growing the wheat, meeting up with “collectivism”, the bad transportation network.
The Russians (Soviets), did not understand the need for a transportation network to get the grain from the fields to the markets. I really think most of the Russian leaders, having lived in areas with good roads and private drivers, never really understood how important the transportation infrastructure is.
Europe has that kind of network because, for the most part, we and the Germans built it to get troops from one place to another. In America, it was built to get goods from the producer to the market. Very few other countries really understand that in a visceral sense.
So when they have a bumper crop, they do not know how to get it to market.
Yep - push a wheelbarrow full of cash to the store and come back with a few pieces of stale bread in a pocket...
As always, the Russians have a transportation problem. They don’t have a grain shortage. They are not going to war with anybody, they don’t have the military to handle a major ground war and they have a whole bunch of Romanians, Poles and Ukrainians who’d love to kill some Russians. There is absolutely no reason that Russia should not be as wealthy as Canada or Finland, the problem is cultural.
The article doesn’t make a lot of sense. Russia is set for the biggest harvest on record, and with shipment restrictions it is unlikely to export that much. Not to mention that the bread is not a number one food anymore.
Both Ukraine and Russia have been major grain exporters. This years bumper crop in Russia may be straining their rail capacity or maybe it is being strained by war transport of men and arms. Meanwhile this is a good opportunity to stick it to St. Petersburg for questioning this war’s purpose. Meanwhile Putin promises low Vodka prices—keep them drunk and happy.
Gen. Eisenhower learned the importance of major transport from his years as General for Europe in WW2. He came home and pushed the Interstate highway system to great success. We do have politicians who fight the concept sometimes. Currently West Virginia cannot get its beautiful new highway connected to Virginia’s I-81 and I-66 roadways. Is it because these old routes are very crowded and need updates, or is it because VA fears competition from WVa?
This may be another reason for Putin’s push to keep Crimea and take Odessa. On the other hand a good negotiating point for Ukraine would be to offer Sevastapol leases for commercial shipping, but forbid military vessels, and supervise inspections at the Kerch Bridge to keep Crimea peaceful and possessed by Ukraine.
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