Pakistan’s Finance Ministers has told officials from the
Commerce and Trade Authority to come up with a plan to export agricultural
products to Russia.He told exporters to take advantage of the ban imposed by the Russian government and that it will enhance overall exports of the country and lessen the current deficit, which is an easier thing to say than do.
He also told Ministries to prepare for World Food Exhibition
2015 in Moscow, I didn't know there was a World Food Exhibition in Moscow next
year, I wonder if EU and US food producers are invited.
Russia will ban imports of live poultry and hatching eggs
from the Netherlands starting today due to the outbreak of H5N8 in the Dutch
village Kamperveen. As well as poultry the village is renowned for manufacturing
mobile leisure vehicles.
The problem with all these tit-for-tat bans is it’s
difficult to spot a genuine case when a country is justified in restricting
imports, I suspect this is genuine although I thought poultry and hatching eggs
would already have come under the general sanctions list.
The on-off Russian export is back on with rumours that
Russia will go ahead and limit exports apparently based on a comment by a
Russian agriculture minister that the country would attempt to slow exports by
raising the intervention price.
All the indicators suggest there won’t be export restrictions
which leads one to think that’s exactly what will happen.
Belarus are saying the current embargo by Russia on their
exports are unjustified and are hurting several Belarussian companies.
Russia has now said they will let some Belarussian
enterprises resume exports to which Belarus responded that it is important to
reopen exports for all the enterprises at once instead of two or four.
Vladislav Tsydik, Deputy Chairman of the Agrarian Policy
Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus
(and breathe) said “I am convinced that our products are as good as foreign
ones, Belarussian products are organic, environmentally pristine and safe”. But possibly slightly radioactive.
You have to feel sorry for Belarus, April 1986 the wind was blowing
in a northerly direction taking with it the radioactive cloud from Chornobyl
before dumping it over large parts of Belarus, no nuclear power stations on its
territory but extensive contamination.
I've been to the contaminated regions and abandoned villages
in the south of the country, a truly heart-breaking experience.
Have a good weekend.