'Flood' of cheap Russian fertiliser risks Europe's food security
ft.com
ft.com
It's as if the pandemic and supply chain issues never happened. When I see things like this (i.e., an intentional disregard for common sense) I have to wonder if it's all just theatre.
In this case, aside from the dependency on an unfriendly adversary for growing food, the also the possibility - however small - that enemy bio-engineeers something, adds it to the fertilizer, and it either kills the crops or at least compromises their yield. Why would you risk your future in this way? Unless you didn't care? It can't be for lack of knowing.
That's factually incorrect. [0][1]
[0] https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/from-lisbon-to-v...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Yushchenko#TCDD_poisoni... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93NATO_relations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93European_Union...
Your link related to Yushchenko says that he was allegedly poisoned by three Ukrainians.
"The people of Ukraine, by majority"
That glosses over the division between Western and Eastern Ukraine. Majority of people of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhask regions were against the association with the EU as your own link says.
"are overwhelmingly interested in being closer to the west"
When faced with the either/or question. The majority was for having good relations with both Russia and the EU. Here is what Merkel's Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said at the time:
"Certainly, the European Union has also made mistakes, although this does not justify Russia's behavior," Gabriel told the German daily Rheinische Post.
"It was certainly not smart to create the impression in Ukraine that it had to decide between Russia and the EU," the Economy Minister added. "But again: That was not and is not a justification to plunge a country into chaos." [0]
That "mistake" doesn't look to me like a desire for congenial and cooperative relationship with Russia.
[0] https://www.newsweek.com/german-official-says-it-was-wrong-m...
Yet they'll supply weapons. Seems obvious why countries aren't willing to enter direct conflict with Russia, so I won't waste my time.
> Your link related to Yushchenko says that he was allegedly poisoned by three Ukrainians.
The link also points out they were likely compromised or held allegiance to Russia. Any assertion that this as being a domestically led coup is mind boggling. Especially in the wake of the election scandal.
> Majority of people of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhask regions were against the association with the EU as your own link says.
I suppose you could just drill down to whatever sub-population of a country you want and the dissenting view becomes the majority. But every time I hear this disingenuous argument, it seems to be forgotten that Russia's military ambition at the outset was to secure all of Ukraine.
> That "mistake" doesn't look to me like a desire for congenial and cooperative relationship with Russia.
Russia, under Putin's leadership, had long made the west aware it was going to play dirty. The possibility for a cooperative relationship between Russia and the west vanished when a man driven by resentment towards the west became the most powerful figure in the country.
I could dive into this, but it's not worth my time. I'm sensing you have a partisan conflict here, so I'll leave you to have the last word.
If your competitor can cut costs this year by using cheap Russian fertilizer, and you do not, the you may not be in business to see the downside of buying from a country your government does not like.
Will you now outlaw food imports from countries that accept Russian fertilizer?
If you do so, will you outlaw food imports from countries that ban direct importation of Russian fertilizer, but are lax on enforcement when ships registries are faked and when fertilizer goes through other nations?
Russia made the mistake of embracing globalization and now is paying heavy price for that when supplies of many critical Western goods are cut by sanctions.
The war in Ukraine is a chapter in that story. A pathetic attempt by Russia to stop one of the last countries in Europe from joining the EU, out of delusion that with a population and GDP of Mexico, it deserves an empire and global influence, and has a right to bully neighbors - resulting in total isolation, with only international pariahs like Iran and North Korea left as allies.
The mistake that Russia made was not embracing globalization, but embracing a sad little dictator from the depths of KGB, who has failed to use the system of global trade to ensure prosperity for its citizens and an equal say in global affairs because he is too dumb for that. If you do not own a superyacht, then you're just another dummy who has fallen under his spell and given away everything for nothing in return. You can't even go out and complain, because his cronies will rape you in a police van. How did it all go so wrong?
Yes, perhaps Russia is the primary target. But there is A LOT of collateral damage. When the USD is effectively the world's currency, the US Fed often makes decisions that are ideal for the USA (and the West) but then screws everyone else.
There are countries that can't climb up because the Fed keeps knocking them down.
If only people were smarter than they were angry.
China is applying same strategy with steel for decades.
Buy expensive American fertilizer. Made in Russia or China. /s
Just like with Gas.