Posted on 08/11/2014 6:48:17 PM PDT by wetphoenix
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine said European companies would have to agree on a major revision of gas contracts with Russia if Kiev imposes sanctions on Moscow and Gazprom, a measure that may lead to disruption in gas transit to Europe.
Ukraine Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said last week that parliament would debate sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, which could include bans on Russian gas and sanctions against Russian banks.
Ukraine gas grid Naftogaz said on Monday that the sanctions could limit or even exclude some companies from piping gas through the country, which would allow other firms to take over transit operations. The statement did not mention Gazprom or Russia.
"The main idea is - transit could continue with no problems if this gas is bought at our eastern border by let's say European companies," a Naftogaz spokeswoman told Reuters.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Putin has botched Russia’s relationship with the Ukraine, an important buffer country for Russia. He’s punishing his own people by restricting food imports based on his belief that if necessary, the Russian people can eat bark off of the trees. Crazy, crazy, crazy.
Clever. Ukraine can then buy their gas from a German middleman and their purchases will be completely opaque to Russia. The only problem I see is that when a German company extends credit they will actually expect to get paid.
Lol!
There are dozens of countries around the world which don’t bend over for the homo-fascists in Brussels and Washington ready and willing to export high quality food to Russia at good prices, not to mention Russian companies willing to take up the slack and increase domestic production.
Meanwhile food production and processing companies all over Europe from Norway to Poland to Spain are cratering as average Europeans are waking up to the cold fact that their own prosperity is tied to trade with large consumer countries like Russia.
Russia will be warm and well fed this winter, can Europe or Ukraine say the same?
What do you see as a moment when the relations become ‘botched’? I don’t see any positive relations since about 1992.
From the article it seems like Ukraine is offering a scheme in which Russian companies may not use Ukrainian transit network to sell gas in Europe and it is only Ukrainian companies who are allowed to do such a trade. Russians are offered to sell to Ukraine instead so Ukraine will resell to Europe as an independent player.
All the Ukrainian mess makes perfect sense to me, including Hunter Biden as an executive of a Ukrainian gas company.
I still do not see how a nation as vast as Russia can’t provide most of their crop needs in abundance climate allowing. They should not have to import much besides tropical fruits.
They are going to have to defeat corruption and bureaucratic incompetence someday.
~I still do not see how a nation as vast as Russia can’t provide most of their crop needs in abundance climate allowing. They should not have to import much besides tropical fruits.~
Russia is actually a netto-exporter of wheat right now and their farmers aren’t nearly as subsidized by the government as European ones.
I think current embargoes would prop the rest of Russian agriculture as well.
Now mongo, reality check: EU28’s total export of food & live animals to Russia was worth EUR 8.7 billion in 2013 -> 0.5% of of EU’s extra EU28 trade, 0.2% EU’s overall foreign trade and 0.06% of EU’s GDP, for America you would have to add several zeroes... on the western side of the dot :))) And obviously, anything they were buying from Europe was related to much shorter supply chain than in case of let's say South America...
Overall macroeconomic effect of the embargo in case of Europe is minimal, in case of US is totally insignificant, for 99% of people in these areas the only effect will be lower food prices. The only reason why it is discussed is because farmers are influential and well organized group, so that's why politicians must “care”, that's why the shirtless shyt picked it up, so now he can broadcast it at home as “we punished the west” and imbeciles will be cheering :)))
Now go to RT and read about Russia punishing homo-fascist west, that will make you feel better ;)
Yeah and cretins are cheering but last time they were cheering when millions of them were being killed so no surprise really...
We’re not talking about specific crops, we’re talking in general. Russia imports a large chunk of its food as a whole, it’s a far bigger importer than exporter. And yes, it is an embarrassment that this is the case. Russia for some reason or another seems to have a lot of trouble producing anything except raw resources - oil, gas, minerals, timber, etc. Mind you, it manages to produce some specific products (their rocket engines are pretty decent - not the best performers, and their reliability record is overstated, but the price is right). But as a whole, their capability to produce both food and industrial products is pathetic compared to the size of their population. Perhaps the cleptocracy simply has trouble with products that have lower margins - not enough money to steal.
~We’re not talking about specific crops, we’re talking in general. Russia imports a large chunk of its food as a whole, it’s a far bigger importer than exporter. And yes, it is an embarrassment that this is the case. Russia for some reason or another seems to have a lot of trouble producing anything except raw resources - oil, gas, minerals, timber, etc. Mind you, it manages to produce some specific products (their rocket engines are pretty decent - not the best performers, and their reliability record is overstated, but the price is right). But as a whole, their capability to produce both food and industrial products is pathetic compared to the size of their population. Perhaps the cleptocracy simply has trouble with products that have lower margins - not enough money to steal.~
You are probably right to some degree, but it is improving.
It fact most foods I buy in Russia are locally-produced right now. A sharp contrast to at least a decade ago, when even an ice cream or noodles were imports. I also drive a Russian-built car for 5 years and never had a single issue aside from regular maintenance, and I also watch a Russian-made HDTV.
When the Norwegian salmon processor goes out of business due to the sudden loss of 40% of its revenue, don't you think the other 60% of its customers are effected also?
Rinse and repeat for Belgian peaches, Polish apples, Irish cheese, Spanish oranges, Greek olives, etc.
Socialist Europe's dirty little secret is how dependent their economies are on large consumer nations like Russia.
Are you sure about 40% ? Not more like 4% ? If they really sell that much to Russia, that's an exception, not a rule, overall no more than 2-3% of European agriculture's output is sold to Russia.
Food is a unique market, in short term you can't increase production like in a factory. If Russians are going to buy “elsewhere” (like South America) they will have to pay more than their old clients and their old clients will have to find new suppliers... so I wouldn't worry that much about European suppliers finding new markets.
Besides...
This: “Polish apples” is not some “Polish Apples Ltd.” but majority is supplied by several thousand small and medium-sized producers (farmers), If they don't find new markets (which I doubt) simply a 100 or so will go out of business, a few hundred will reduce production in the next season and that's it, the other year the same happens due to bad weather or something else... yes, GDP growth would then slow down by 0.01-02% and a few hundred people will lose their jobs... terrible. Should I start crying now ? Perhaps later.
“Socialist Europe's dirty little secret is how dependent their economies are on large consumer nations like Russia.”
Russia is not any “large consumer nation”, go check the basic facts, their import is twice bigger than that of... Czech Republic. This whole embargo is a joke. KGB knows that Russians are full of cold war revansism, that's why they do it, now they will broadcast (via RT and other shit) as the front page news, some “emergency meetings” on the level of EU vice ministers, which vast majority of Europeans won't even notice, with comments like “EU desperately looking for a solution” etc. and cretins watching it will be cheering because “Russia punished the west”, “Russia is important again”. Sad dicks.
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