The Quite Hilarious Russian Propaganda About The Ban On EU Food Imports
Reader response:
Tim Worstall doubles down again! Even before the true effects of the sanctions are felt. I know you hate to admit it Tim but it is simple math. The EU suppliers were making money off Russia and now they are not. Tell any business owner that he is better off losing one of his best customers and I’m relatively sure he will show you the door. zit’s huge loss for the EU.
I’ve taken the time to get some numbers to educate you on just the first year losses.
Here ya go.
List of some of the banned US food.Kale: According to the United Nation’s commodity trade database, the US exported to Russia in 2013 about 338,266 pounds of cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi and kale, both fresh and chilled, worth about $93,894.
Whiskey: Russia bought $85 million worth of various whiskeys from the US in 2013, per the UN’s commodity trade database. “It is well known that Russians like to drink alcohol,” the US Department of Agriculture noted in a report released last year. Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey are increasingly popular in Russia, according to the report.
Russia’s consumer protection agency recently announced that it was investigating Kentucky Gentleman bourbon due to fears that it contains chemicals that could produce infertility and cause cancer, and was already proceeding with plans to ban that specific brand in the country. (A spokesperson for the Sazerac Company said they had not been contacted by Russia’s Rospotrebnadzor, and had no comment at this time.)
Fruit: Russia imports more apples and pears than any other country, according to USDA. Shipments from the US only constitute a small share of those imports—less than 1 percent of the total apple market in Russia—but that still amounted to $7.7 million worth of apples in 2012. “U.S. apples have a niche market in Russia as many consumers prefer the large and richly colored apples, which are characteristics that U.S. suppliers can normally provide,” a USDA report said.
Almonds: In 2012, the United States supplied about 92 percent of the Russian almond market, USDA reported. In 2013, the US exported about $132,189,826 worth of shelled almonds to Russia, according to the UN.
Cows: In 2012, Russia imported 74,734 bovine animals from the United States. “Russia was the second largest market for the U.S. breeding cattle exports (30 percent of total U.S. live cattle exports) after Canada during the first 8 months of 2013,” the USDA reported.
Cake mix: In 2013, the United States exported about 2.2 million pounds of bread, pastry, biscuit mixes and dough worth $1,191,464 to Russia, according to the UN. Soybeans: In 2013, US exported $157 million worth of soybeans to Russia. Caviar: In 2013, the US exported $1,014,848 worth of preserved fish, fish eggs, and caviar to Russia.
Canadian pork alone took a $587 million loss. Australian beef is also on par with Canadas losses.
Totals just of these losses: US over a billion dollars, Finland over a billion dollars, Canada over a billion dollars. Russia will simply buy from other countries.
The sanctions have backfired and hurt the US and EU economies.
Now here’s the commercial airline news losses (keep in mind this was just from the news of the potentiality).
By mid-day Wednesday, Western airline shares had lost an estimated $4.5 billion, dragging down European markets, ITAR–TASS reports.
Air France stock dropped 4.7 percent to €7.15 per share, and over the past two days the company has seen its market capitalization fall 11 percent, or €220 million.
Germany’s Lufthansa saw shares sunk 2.9 percent to €12.45, losing approximately €570 million, or 10 percent of its value.
International Airlines Group (IAG), the holding company of British Airways and Iberia, saw shares fall 6.5 percent and lost more than €745 million. American exchanges also suffered big blows from the air space scare.
At the New York close, Delta Airlines had seen its capitalization down $1.1 billion. So while you continue to double down and put lipstick on this pig….it’s relatively easy to see that you are ignoring the financial realities while pushing a certain narrative. I think Forbes will have to do better than this if it wants to be taken seriously in the changing world…..and it is a changing world.
Chilean beef is way up today on the stock market.
Mr. Godfree Roberts <godfree@gmail.com> is one of the frequent contributors for The 4th Media.