statistically . . .

LOL

:winkwink::1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Now just look at the World map :)

Polish Apple Farmers Hammered By Russian Import Ban

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/upload...154b0595_b.jpg

NOWE GROBICE, Poland ? Slawomir Kedzierski's workers had just finished loading 20 tons of Polish apples onto two trucks destined for Russia when news came through of the embargo. The fruit, and his business, had fallen foul of the geopolitical crisis over Ukraine.

"The man who had placed the order rang up and told me not to bother because the apples wouldn't make it through customs on time," said Kedzierski, whose Sun-Sad company is one of 800 Polish apple producers exporting to Russia.

Two days later, on Aug. 1, Russia officially closed its borders to Polish fruit and vegetables, depriving farmers and exporters of a market worth more than 300 million euros ($400 million) last year.

Moscow blamed repeated sanitary infringements by Polish farmers, but the move was widely seen as retaliation for Poland's staunch support of Ukraine in its fight with pro-Russian separatists and Warsaw's push within the European Union for tougher sanctions on Russia.

"This is not about an infringement of any quality norms. The decision is strictly political," Polish Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said. "Russia is abusing [sanitary] regulations for political reasons," Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told a news conference.

The ban represented a targeted strike against the biggest producer of apples in Europe, underscoring the EU's vulnerability to retaliation as the bloc turns the screws on the Russian economy, hoping to force President Vladimir Putin to drop his support for rebels trying to break away from Kiev.

The EU and United States have slapped sanctions on allies of Putin, businessmen close to the Kremlin and most recently the Russian energy, defense and banking sectors.

This week Russia acknowledged its true motives. Putin signed a decree on Wednesday ordering economic retaliation against any country that had imposed the sanctions.

Then on Thursday, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced sweeping bans on fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, milk and dairy imports from the U.S., the EU, Australia, Canada and Norway, effective for one year.

Medvedev also said he was considering banning flights by EU and U.S. airlines through Russian airspace to the Asia-Pacific region, responding to the grounding of a subsidiary of Russian national carrier Aeroflot. This was forced by the cancellation of a leasing agreement for the budget airline's fleet due to the EU sanctions.

Banning such flights over Siberia would hurt Aeroflot, which gets the fees foreign airlines pay for the right, but it would also inflict significant costs on European carriers, which would be forced to fly longer routes and burn more fuel.
Winners and Losers

Russia has traditionally reserved such punishment for upstart members of its ex-Soviet backyard that are not part of the EU but are trying to get there. These include the likes of Georgia and Moldova, which have both suffered from Russian import bans on their popular wines.

With the EU and U.S. frozen out, others stand to gain from the huge Russian market. Timothy Ash, head of emerging market analysis at Standard Bank, noted the potential for pork and fruit exporters in Serbia, the dairy and meat sector in Belarus, fruit and vegetables from Armenia ? each country well-placed due to their traditional ties with Russia. "Inevitably, there will be some winners," Ash said in a note.

Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov said Thursday that Russia planned to step up imports of Brazilian meat and cheese from New Zealand. The import bans would also be discussed with Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Brazilian producers have already said they could ship more chicken to Russia.

According to the Polish statistics office, Poland sold Russia about 316 million euros' worth of now-embargoed fruit and vegetables last year. Apples accounted for nearly 90 percent, with Poland having recently overtaken China as the world's largest exporter of the fruit.

The Agriculture Ministry says that more than a third of Poland's annual apple production of 3 million tons is sent abroad, with about 700,000 tons going to Russia alone.

While farmers will take a hit, the overall effect on Poland's $517 billion economy may be limited. But the accumulated effect of escalating tit-for-tat trade measures between Russia and the EU will take a toll.

Last week, in an interview with the daily Rzeczpospolita, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechocinski estimated that mutual sanctions would trim 0.6 percentage points from his country's economic growth this year, previously forecast at 3.4 percent.

"In macroeconomic terms, the impact of the Russian embargo on Polish fruit will not be significant," said Jakub Borowski, chief economist at Credit Agricole Bank Polska. "It will, however, deepen the deflationary tendencies, decreasing the inflation rate by 0.1 or perhaps even 0.2 percentage points."
Political Fallout

The government, trying to limit any fallout on the coalition that includes the Peasants' Party, is scrambling to support farmers. Sawicki, the agriculture minister, said he planned to meet executives of the largest supermarket chains and would encourage them to give priority to Polish apple suppliers.

He also said he would ask the government to scrap taxes on cider production until the end of the year and talk to the Health Ministry about lifting a ban on cider advertising, imposed as part of a drive to discourage young Poles from alcohol abuse.

Even with such emergency measures, Sawicki estimated the damage at about 160 million euros this season.

This week, Polish campaigners took to social media posting pictures of themselves taking a bite out of the forbidden fruit, using the hashtag #jedzjablka, or "eat apples."

Statistics suggest the average Pole ate 13.5 kilograms of apples last year, down from 23 kilos a decade earlier. "Eating just one apple a day would provide significant relief for Polish producers," Miroslaw Maliszewski, head of the Association of Polish Fruit-growers, told a news conference last week.

Sawicki said the European Commission had recently granted 4 million euros for a marketing campaign to promote Polish apples in India and China, part of an attempt to tap into new markets, but success will take time.

The government is already showing the strain, with some in the Peasants' Party, junior partner to the center-right Civic Platform, lamenting Warsaw's vocal criticism of the Kremlin.

Maliszewski, who is also a Peasants' Party member of parliament, said Poland had got "carried away."

This week, the agriculture ministry filed a preliminary compensation request to Brussels. "The EU stood together when it imposed the sanctions on Russia," Sawicki said. "It must show its solidarity with Polish farmers and take responsibility for the situation."

Kedzierski, whose trucks were held up by the ban, took little solace. He usually exports to Russia a third of the 20,000 tons of apples he produces each year.

"Now I need to figure out where to send the 7,000 tons of apples I used to send east," he said. "I don't get involved in politics, nor do I want to. I'd much rather politics stayed out of my business too."

Putin's Approval Rating Soars to 87%, Poll Says

http://www.sptimes.ru/archive/img/18..._07_Putin.jpeg

Russia has done it self a favour and will most prob pay less for imports from other countries rather than the US, EU

This could cost the EU $16 bn in lost trade

The EU are allready crying about this

The European Union is likely to consider filing appeals with the World Trade Organization (WTO) after Russia announced import bans on products from the EU, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said Thursday.

Russia’s import ban means big business for Latin America

Russia’s 1-year ban on food products from the EU, US, Canada, and Norway will force Russia to increase food imports from Latin America, specifically Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.

Russia will ban meat, dairy, fruit, and vegetable imports from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict, which opens the door to Russia’s partners on the other side of the world.

Russia will have to fill an 8 percent gap in its total agricultural imports that it sources from the EU, USA, Canada, Australia, and Norway. The Netherlands, Germany, and Poland are currently Russia’s biggest food suppliers in the EU.

http://rt.com/business/178664-latin-...ts-russia-ban/


I think Russia has the upper hand for now and these sanctions put in place by the US and EU will hurt the UK more than Russia Putin is laughing at us right now

Although food is not just food. Importing some grains and plain meat doesn't make that much difference, but Russia has imported huge amounts of readily processed food. So, next time you go into store imagine that huge part of the familiar products are gone, and those have been replaced with some unfamiliar products labelled in Chinese, Spanish, Portugese and so on.

I hope the Russian people wake up and realize they are being led down a very bad path by a little dictator and find a way to get rid of him.

We don't allow dictators here, every 4 years, 5 years in Canada max, we can boot the leader out - in the US a president can only hold the office 8 years max.

Russia has always been led by a "strong man" (kindly said), whether it has been tsar, secretary of party, or president. It is to what they are used to. Russia too has that 8 year rule or very similar, but Putin was out of office for one "season", as Medvedev was president. So, now Putin has started from zero. They can continue this show as long as they want, and Putin lives, of course. :)

There have to be some people over there who have half a brain. Or maybe not. Have you seen their dashcam videos? It looks like country that just took off its training wheels.

Those videos are funny really...

Annoying poles. Poland the loudest EU voice calling for sanctions, is now looking for ?500m compensation from EU because of consequences. F idiots.

Sweden must be unders sanctions too, I think:winkwink: Tage Fritiof Erlander was premier-minister of Sweden 23 years:thumbsup
and France too:winkwink: François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was president 14 years
and what's about Franklin Delano Roosevelt? was 12 years

Mitterrand - 1981-1995 - 14 years - true democratic president
Putin - 2000-2008, 2012-2017 - 13 years - fucking tiran
double standarts, no?:disgust

Just a note: The US changed their laws to prevent that from happening again; and he was president during the Great Depression and World War II. I suspect the people were happy with the job he was doing.

russia imports 40% of its food and exports its gas...

so the way I see it, EU farmers will suffer and EU citizens will freeze?

Putin is a genius at politics, so good at smoothing things over :2 cents:

http://agodlessstrumpet.files.wordpr...-your-face.jpg

Some part of Europe may, as gas usage varies much by country to country. I won't, as the gas is just a part of a large mix and can be replaced quite easily. Eastern Europe is more heavily influenced.

I don't know how much Norway can compensate, but at least some of it may.

Buyers for Norwegian gas.

http://www.npd.no/Global/Engelsk/3-P...-7/Fig-7-4.gif


"Norwegian gas export covers close to 20 per cent of European gas consumption. Most of the exports go to Germany, the UK, Belgium and France, where Norwegian gas accounts for between 20 and 40 per cent of the total gas consumption."

http://www.npd.no/en/Publications/Fa...012/Chapter-7/

A nice graph about what russia exports (makes money from) if anyone cares:
http://www.atlas.cid.harvard.edu/exp...all/show/2010/

There is not really much else then minerals, metals, chemicals etc.. lucky for them they have plenty of it.

good idea how to use the fruit not sold to evil Russians:thumbsup

http://fap.to/images/full/50/121/1218912378.jpg

Did you force her do it? Typical Putin behavior.

How stupid is to think that you can harm country that is spreading over half of planet? There will be just some short shortage for a while until food start coming from other parts of world. (south America,for example).

Only one stupid here is Europe. US managed to put Eu in conflict with Russia while Russians will benefit long time and they should start producing more own food and products before. This is pretty good lesson for them in what direction they should go. It is cool to have money from oil but being completely independent is even better.

Bit slow, aren't they?

I don't know, it must be like that when you have money coming from all sides, so you don't give a fuck. This will be additional boost for their economy if they don't relax again and just change source of import.

Whats for dinner mom? Vodka and Potatoes

Please, know what youa re talking about before stating stuff. Canada has over 200,000 farms according to Statistics Canada. We provide much of the world with grain, tomato and potato. More than our population can consume, so we sell some to the US so they can sell it to you.

We also flourish in poultry, bison, beef and pork. Again, more than we can consume. So we sell it to US, to sell to you.

Living in Finland, I see and hear a lot about this on a daily basis. Russia gets a tremendous amount of food from its neighbors and western countries. It's not just Polish apples. Finland also sells a lot of dairy products to Russia, enough so that they will be closing several processing plants here and laying off about 800 workers. (That doesn't sound like many in the US, but Finland only has about 5½ million people - or about 1/3 the size of Los Angeles County.) The Russians are not only blocking food exports, but they are also confiscating food being brought back in if they think it is more than reasonable consumption. No more crossing the border to stock up! Putin and the other politicos won't suffer -- they will still get all the Western foods they have come to know and love. It's the common folk who will not be able to afford to buy basic food - if they can find it. It will take time for Russia to get their act together. Putin also did this at the end of the growing season, which means a lot of crops can't be planted until spring. I don't know of too many successful governments that have let their people go hungry. As tense as it is here in Finland, it is a far sight better than Russia.

Moscow to Raid Supermarkets to Test Compliance With Food Ban

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/upload...ban-russia.jpg




Moscow authorities are set to launch raids targeting area supermarkets to check for compliance with Russia's recent ban on certain imported foods, Izvestia reported Wednesday.

Supermarkets are in the process of compiling lists of banned goods presently stocked on their shelves and establishing time frames within which these products will likely be phased out, Alexei Nemeryuk, head of the Moscow city government's trade department, said in comments carried by Izvestia.

By consulting these lists, the city will be able to track the expected dates of departure for the last of the pre-ban imports. Once this time has passed, raids will begin to ensure compliance, Nemeryuk told Izvestia. The checks may begin as early as one month from now, he said.

On Aug. 6, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering the prohibition of certain goods imported from the European Union, the United States and other countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia in connection with the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

The full list of banned goods was published the next day. It includes fish, meat, poultry and dairy products from the EU, U.S., Canada, Australia, Norway and Japan.

Dude put cameras on all your cars and then see videos - will get same result. Dash cameras just are very popular in Russia. Should I tell you to watch police chasing videos from US or another school/college shooting massacre? Don't full yourself.

But we still have 2 candidates from same 2 parties every 4 years,backed up by same people with huge money. I don't believe our president has real power. Big moneybags behind him the ones who stay consistent.

Please don't worry dude! :winkwink:

Russia has enough food without Suomi...

That's so sweet. I really didn't believe people still believed nonsense they were told in primary school.

The people in power throwing out the political ruling class every 4 years. Amazing.

http://www.sptimes.ru/archive/img/18...08_16_Jack.jpg

Russian Inspectors Find 'Chemicals' in Jack Daniel's Whisky

While the powerful after effects of Jack Daniel's whisky are known to many, for officials in Russia's mountainous Sverdlovsk region, there is something more sinister than alcohol lurking in the honey-colored brew.

A regional branch of Russia's state food safety watchdog found "chemical substances not common to whiskey" in Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Liqueur, an agency spokesperson told the ITAR-Tass news agency late last week.

The agency also had issue with the honey-flavored drink's more common sibling, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey. Under Russian law, alcohol packaging should include a list of ingredients written in Russian, the location where it was brewed, and the length of the distilling process ? all of which Jack Daniel's lacks, the spokeswoman said.

Responding to suspicions that the whiskey in question may have been fake ? state statistics indicate 9.9 million liters of fake whiskey may have been sold in Russia in 2013 ? a spokesman for the region's customs service defended the results.

"According to our information, the alcohol products on the Sverdlovsk region market are original," the spokesman said, adding that no imports of counterfeit U.S. alcohol to the region have been recorded for at least a year and a half.

The regional authorities are continuing their inspection and plan to confiscate the Jack Daniel's whisky currently in circulation, the food safety watchdog's spokeswoman said.

Earlier this month, imports of Kentucky Gentleman bourbon, another popular U.S. alcohol brand, were suspended by Russia's consumer protection watchdog. The agency said that it had discovered phthalates ? organic chemicals ? in the bourbon.

The food safety and consumer protection agencies, both known as pliable instruments of Russian foreign policy, also launched investigations of popular U.S. fast food chain McDonald's in July.

Sanctioned Development Bank Sees Profits Tumble 70 Percent

The net profit of sanctioned state development bank Vneshekonombank, or VEB, fell 70 percent in the first half of this year against 2013 levels, according to the bank's second-quarter report.

VEB's net profits fell to about 3 billion rubles ($83 million) in the first half of this year, compared to nearly 10 billion rubles ($278 million) in 2013.

The drop was linked to a 12.3 billion rubles ($342 million) loss from foreign currency operations and the revaluation of foreign currencies, according to the report.

VEB was struck by both United States and Europe Union sanctions in July as the West sought to pressure Russia into ceasing support of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. The measures effectively barred VEB from buying or selling equity or debt with a maturity period of longer than 90 days on Western capital markets.

The bank at the time said the sanctions would not have a significant impact on its operations.

Some economists argued that striking VEB would create a financial ripple effect, ultimately damaging far-flung corners of the Russian economy. Although often classified as a development bank, VEB is in effect a state corporation that funds infrastructure projects and supports Russian industry and small business.

In targeting VEB, the sanctions struck close to the top of Russia's chain of command: Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev himself is chairman of VEB's supervisory board, whose other members include Russia's finance minister and economic development minister.

The apparent losses this year may also be the natural consequence of a strong first half in 2013, when, according to the report, the bank profited from "the revaluation of financial instruments and revenues from the sale of securities."


Finnish Shipyard Hit by Sanctions on Russia as European Bank Closes Accounts

In an instance of Western sanctions striking closer to home, European lender Nordea Bank is closing the bank accounts of a Finnish shipyard after a major Russian shipbuilder that owns part of the company was blacklisted by the U.S., a Finnish news outlet reported.

Finland's Arctech Helsinki Shipyard is part owned by Russia's state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation, or USC, which was blacklisted by the U.S. last month when the West stepped up its sanctions against Moscow over Russia's support for separatist rebels in war-torn eastern Ukraine.

"Nordea is an international bank with offices in the U.S., as such it must comply with U.S. sanctions," the bank told Yle news.

Arctech is also partially owned by Korean shipyard holding company STX.

Yle said that Esko Mustamyaki, the head of Arctech confirmed that their Nordea accounts had been closed, and said they do not expect this to impact the firm's orders, which include civilian icebreakers for use in the Arctic.

source ?