Ukraine’s production
and exports of cheese is expected to decrease due to Russia’s import ban
Imports of dairy products will also decrease due to currency devaluation although local whole dairy products production will likely remain stable supported by domestic consumption.
According to PM Yatsenyuk Ukraine is willing
to expand business cooperation with Norway especially in agriculture and
energy.
He goes on to point
out that Ukraine expects a 5% increase in the agriculture sector this year and this
has created new opportunities for the two countries.
Meanwhile in
Kazakhstan a Chinese consortium is planning to construct a 100 million eggs poultry
farm. One of the
main investors said the project is experimental and will lay the foundation for other
large projects in Kazakhstan in the future.
As Kazakhstan is
self-sufficient in eggs the project will presumably be targeting exports to
places like China and Russia although Russia is no slouch when it comes to
laying eggs holding the number one producer in Europe position.
Talking of trade the
regional integration in the post-Soviet space is set to continue with the
launch of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) on January 1, 2015. The initial EEU
members will be Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, with Armenia and Kyrgyzstan planning
to join later.
In other news from Russia, 660 German heifers are taking four Boeing 747 flights to the Far East to
stock up a large cattle-breeding complex in Primorye. Apparently each
pedigree cow can produce up to 4,500kg of milk per year which is three times
higher than the average cow; assuming
you feed it with something it can actually digest.
(4,500kg, surely that’s
a mistake, the average for Russia is somewhere near that.)
Make up your own
joke about travelling cattle class and not wanting to be sitting next to one because
they hog the arm rest.
Talking of hogs and animals on a gap year, a
herd of 587 pigs has travelled from Kursk region to a modern pig-breeding
complex just launched in Sakhalin.
It didn't say how
they travelled but I hope they flew as its over 9,000km by road.