PRESS RELEASE

Russia Finds New Food Supplies, as Europe Reels

Aug. 13, 2014 (EIRNS)—Reports from Russian media indicate that the government is well advanced in making new, expanded arrangements for bringing in food supplies, to substitute for those from nations now under sanction. These include a number of South American countries—Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador—as well as Egypt and China. A 7 minute video broadcast on Russian state TV highlighted the turn to increased food trade with Argentina and Brazil.

Meanwhile, estimate are coming out of Europe that the Russian boycott of their food products—in retaliation for their sanctions against Russia—could cost Europe’s farmers with losses in the billions, perhaps up to EU 30 billion. Farmers are already in an uproar in Greece, Poland, Cyprus, and elsewhere. The Cypriot farmer’s union head issued a statement warning that the entire citrus industry will be destroyed, if this continues.

Italy, Greece, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and others have called for convening the Council of Ministers of Rural Development in Brussels on Aug. 14, to discuss compensating the farmers for their losses. Given the general austerity condition on the continent, the prospects look quite poor.