Russian Grain Exports - Animal Farm Lives

Looks like our friends across the pond…no not those friends, our comrades in Moscow are at it again. Russia is going to nationalize grain exports. This announcement is the latest in a series of moves that appear to be a rush to Russia’s former self. Moscow has been very busy as of late completing a number of industrial re-nationalizations, most notably in the oil sector.

Time to make the bread!

The plan is for the Russian Agency for the Regulation of Food Markets to become a government trader that controls up to 50 percent of the country’s exports which totaled $3.5 billion last year. If no one is watching, let me help you here. Russia is making sure they are a force to be reckoned with in the early part of this century, and they need to be taken seriously. There is no doubt they are pissed that the US is planning on building a missile defense shield in parts of eastern Europe and they are flexing their economic, political, and military muscle as a response.

These are all smart moves. There is no economic downturn in Russia today, no housing crisis or interest rate issues, everything is cash and the country is packed with it while the market explodes. Politically, these moves provide Moscow the resources needed to fatten itself up for a long winter. On the military front, Moscow announced this week a complete overhaul of the navy, complete with six brand new air craft carrier groups. For you boys and girls not keeping score, they have one right now…and the carrier itself is followed by four tug boats in case it breaks down. So this is a significant military move to strengthen itself.

Point is, with Russia’s latest move to take over grain exports, someone needs to be keeping an eye out on what the long range plan is in the former Soviet Union because it looks like these guys are getting their game faces on. Europe, time to man up!