On grain and some important dynamics resulting from it.
Many months ago there was a brokered deal by Turkey in which Russia essentially would allow Ukrainian grain ships to safely leave Ukrainian ports without threat. From the Russians side, part of the deal was that certain sanctions on their agri-exports would be lifted. Fast forward months later and those promised sanctions lifts didn't happen, so now the Russians don't want to renew the deal.
What's interesting about this is the other side of it. Shipping through the sea allows this grain to go to various far away markets that actually need this grain, Africa, ME, etc, but shipping grain and other food items to and through European countries is actually creating a lot of issues. Most recently, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria all banned Ukrainian grain imports. The reason is simple really. Ukraine was and still is a heavy grain exporter and these countries are wary of having their own domestic industries get wiped out by cheaper Ukrainian grain flooding these close by neighbors. To me this is just another negative side effect that will ultimately soften support for the war to continue particularly due to economic costs.
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The European Commission has rejected bans introduced by Poland and Hungary on Ukrainian grain imports.
The two countries said the measures were necessary to protect their farming sectors from cheap imports.
The ban applies to grains, dairy products, sugar, fruit, vegetables and meats and will be in force until the end of June.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65292698https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-grains-bulgaria-idAFL8N36M2G7This post was edited by ofthevoid on Apr 29 2023 07:51am