graham wrote:
> On 2018-05-10 2:52 PM, Steve 'Cannabis Oil' Wertz wrote:
> > On Thursday, 10 May 2018 14:58:12 UTC-5, wrote:
> >> http://www.advicegoddess.com/archive....html#comments
> >>
> >> Alkon says:
> >>
> >> "A post by Steven Horwitz at Library of Economics and Liberty made me realize something I hadn't noticed -- how luxuriously even people of average income eat these days."
> >>
> >> Excerpts by Horwitz follow.
> >>
> >> Also, you may want to check out the comment by Conan the Grammarian - he included a link to an article about Boris Yeltsin's 1989 visit to an American supermarket (in Houston?) and how astounded he was.
> >>
> >
> >
> > I love this, thanks for posting. At the time, Soviet agriculture was *really* failing, bread was beginning to be rationed, and the food sitch would careen steeply downhill from there; Yelstin later wept when recalling the incident (from the above link):
> >
> > "Yeltsin, then 58, "roamed the aisles of Randalls nodding his head in amazement," wrote [Houston Chronicle reporter Stefanie] Asin. He told his fellow Russians in his entourage that if their people, who often must wait in line for most goods, saw the conditions of U.S. supermarkets, "there would be a revolution."
> >
> > The fact that stores like these were on nearly every street corner in America amazed him. They even offered free cheese samples.
> >
> > "When I saw those shelves crammed with hundreds, thousands of cans, cartons and goods of every possible sort, for the first time I felt quite frankly sick with despair for the Soviet people,€ť Yeltsin wrote. €śThat such a potentially super-rich country as ours has been brought to a state of such poverty! It is terrible to think of it."
> >
> One of the significant things that contributed to Glasnost was during
> the visit to Canada by Gorbachev. He was then Minister for Agriculture
> and he visited farms in the west that were owned by farmers of Ukranian
> descent. He was apparently astounded at their productivity and living
> standards especially when compared to those in the Ukraine.
In 1963 Canada was the first Western nation to successfully negotiate a large deal with the Soviets to export Canadian wheat to the USSR; the next year the Soviets started importing US wheat...
Now Russian ag has advanced so far from the dire communist times that they have again become major grain exporters:
https://www.country-guide.ca/2016/12...n-wheat/50031/
"Russia takes on the world
Millions of acres in Russia had been waiting for someone to farm them. Now theyre bursting with grain
For many Canadian grain growers, this years weather concerns, disease pressure, high input costs, and low crop prices made it seem like weve already been facing the perfect storm. However, there is an even bigger threat on the horizon €” Russia.
In the first week of October, while most Canadian growers were still busy with harvest, three reputable international organizations warned of the impact Russia will have on grain markets, not only this year but, because of the bumper Russian crop, for the long term too.
On October 6 the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Cereals & Oilseeds Division, (a United Kingdom agency, funded by a statutory farm levy and independent of government and commercial industry) issued the statement: €śRussian grain crop exceeds expectations.€ť
This boards purpose is to increase the competitiveness and sustainability of U.K. farmers by providing factual, evidence-based advice, and it predicted this years harvest of 117.2MT would be the biggest in Russia since 1978.
Wheat will be the primary driver of the increase, and the board predicted Russia will harvest 70.8 MT this year. Given this scenario, Russia will be looking to export a record amount of grain, including an estimated 30.4 MT of wheat alone...
[...]
Still, if there is a bright spot for Canadian wheat, it is that Russian wheat is primarily lower grade and medium protein. It is not as suitable for western-style bread or Asian noodles.
So to protect Canadian wheat markets we need to focus on growing high-quality wheats our customers want and providing superior service to those markets.
Grain companies invest in Russia
While the growing dominance of Russia in the world grain trade may be news for Canadian farmers, it isnt to the global grain trade. Major grain companies have made large investments in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Archer Daniels Midland began trading grains in Russia in 1980.
Bunge established a subsidiary company in Russia in 2004. It acquired elevators and a grain terminal as well as building a sunflower seed refinery. It has already captured over 12 per cent of the Russian bottled vegetable oil market.
Cargill has been exporting grain from Russia since 1998. It has invested over US$1.1 billion in Russian infrastructure including elevators, terminals, sunflower crush plants, animal nutrition processing, and a chicken processing plant.
Louis Dreyfus in 2013 announced its intention to expand grain storage from 1.4 to four million tonnes of grains in Russia over four years. In 2015, that expansion started with the purchase of the Azov Grain Terminal.
Glencore has acquired farms and storage facilities in Russia since 2007.
Olam International Ltd. entered the Russian market in 2005 with its Outspan International Ltd.,and since then has become one of the biggest suppliers of raw and semi-finished products to the Russian food-processing sector. As well, it has invested in a port facility and in dairy farms in Russia. Its goal is to grow its Russian dairy operation to a milking herd of 50,000 head..."