Here is a copy of my latest blog for informative and useful Farmers Review website.
While a full on war hasn't quite
broken out the situation in eastern Ukraine continues to teeter on the brink of
something tense but no one seems quite sure what.
Various official buildings and
offices are being taken over by pro-Russian, pro-separatist groups who rally
around a single issue agenda of self-rule and have a general distrust of the
interim Government in Kiev.
Shots have been fired with several
deaths reported, journalists have been kidnapped, so too have international
military observers (whatever they are), some bodies have turned up with signs
of torture and pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia groups are clashing on the streets
with bloody results.
Recently the mayor of Kharkiv was
shot and is now in critical condition in what appeared to be an assassination
attempt aimed at the situation further.
Russia is widely thought to be behind
the separatists or at least the former disgraced Ukrainian President in exile
in Russia where he ran to with $32 billion which he is now using to fund the
separatists but as yet no one has been able
to produce conclusive proof that Russia is directly involved.
I’m sure they are but only in the
same way the US is directly involved supporting the other side.
That’s the problem with
geo-politics, you never have the full picture and it’s very easy to run to simplistic
conclusions about who are the goodies and who are the baddies.
On a positive note events haven’t
yet spiraled out of control and I assume the longer it goes on the less likely
it is for the situation to break down completely.
But then again I’m a farmer not a
strategic analyst so don’t blame me if I get it wrong.
On a further positive note there has
been a series of rapid fire announcements coming from the Ministry of
Agriculture in Kiev all seemingly sensible and geared towards making business
easier, more transparent and aimed at encouraging investment in to the
sector.
Some of the initiatives include EU
trade preferences for Ukrainian exporters; the introduction of minimum term on
agricultural land leases; deregulation of the market for pesticides; cancelled
grain and granary certification; develop organic production and exports; National
Bank provided lending support and a simplified procedure of agricultural land
allocation.
I get the impression that the new
Government, which boasts the highest ever share of top and mid-level government
officials with western degrees and international business experience are
actually trying to do something sensible and effective.
Recent rain in central and western
regions helped the over-wintered crops and newly planted spring crops and they
are looking very good at the moment. Crops
further east are starting to show signs of stress from a lack of water.
Winter wheat is around GS30-32
(pseudo stem erect, 2nd node detectable) and winter
oilseed rape is at early to mid-flower.
The season is about twenty days
earlier than last year which will have the effect of increasing the yield
potential for all crops assuming the season ahead is conducive to growing. However any yield potential will be
restricted by a lack of finance, inflation, exchange rate fluctuations and
general uncertainty which will discourage a high level of investment in to this
year’s crop, particularly fertiliser.
Gas prices going up (Russia supplies
Ukraine with gas) will make grain drying expensive so I anticipate a drop in
maize planting to be replaced with sunflower or even fallow. We are about half way through sunflower
planting and about a third of the maize crop is now in the ground.
Crop prices have moved upwards on
the back of the continued uncertainty in Ukraine and cold weather in the US
which is good news if you still have crop to sell.
The farming clock keeps turning
regardless of what Putin, Obama and the rest get up to.