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Seems pretty clear that "embargo" means "could/would sell for a profit" but doesn't for fear of WG's reaction, which is not the case for the USSR.

It's not explicit in the article, but I would guess the USSR didn't have a strong enough coffee industry to be helping anymore.

That got a chuckle out of me too. When state secrecy and systematic incompetence get in bed together, a lot of things end up being 'decided' lol.

Edit: as a massive fan of industrial and engineering history, the spotty nature of good Soviet documentation does my head in!

Neither the West nor the USSR grew coffee, though.

The West wouldn't trade (or let developing countries under its influence do it) and I bet the USSR couldn't procure enough for itself and the DDR.