Russians may be left without vegetables
Problems continue to escalate in russia’s agro-industrial sector. In particular, there is a growing threat of a shortage of late-season vegetables, the sowing of which is currently underway. The situation is especially critical when it comes to carrot, beet, and potato seeds.
▫️Almost all of russia’s seeds were previously imported, primarily from the Netherlands, which accounted for 80% of total imports. However, starting in July of this year, russia banned the import of seeds and seedlings from that country, allegedly due to the detection of plant diseases.
In reality, this ban is part of russia’s food policy aimed at projecting the image of a country capable of imposing its own sanctions on “unfriendly states.” However, russia lacks a domestic seed supply — its “import substitution” program in agriculture has completely failed. Meanwhile, vegetable prices have already risen sharply. The situation has become so dire that the russian government is now proposing to introduce state price regulation for basic “borscht set” vegetables.
All russians are paying the price for the kremlin’s aggressive foreign policy and its attempts to act as a global geopolitical power. This cost is increasingly visible in the rising prices of essential food items.
