Looking beyond the competition
I find it difficult to absorb the reality of the horror unfolding in Ukraine at present. In modern society we see so much content on our screens it’s sometimes hard to distinguish between fact and fiction. But we know this is fact. We know Putin is determined to destroy the freedom and sovereignty of Ukraine.
Only weeks ago the Ukrainian people were living a peaceful life in a modern, vibrant community. They were much like us. They aspired to own their homes, educate their children and to travel and engage freely with the world. But because of geography, their world has been turned upside down.
Ukrainians are very large producers and exporters of wheat and barley. They are a major competitor of Australian grain growers and we fight for market share.
The war has caused disruption to shipping out of Black Sea ports causing global grain prices to lift sharply in the past few weeks.
Like many farmers, we’ve been selling into this rally. We’d usually be celebrating such high prices, but there’s something about this market spike that makes me feel uncomfortable.
It seems quite perverse that the price rises we’ve seen here in recent weeks are a direct result of the misery being heaped upon the Ukrainian people by the despicable actions of a despot Russian president.
Agriculture is a global business and Australian farmers closely watch events in other countries that will impact prices we receive. It’s not unusual for difficult circumstances for farmers in one country to provide opportunity for the farmers of another country. But most often that will be with weather conditions such as drought, flood or frosts. And we know our turn comes with these events. In some years our competitors benefit from our poor seasons.
I don’t know anyone in Ukraine but somehow I feel a connection. A few weeks before the invasion I listened to a live Twitter broadcast on global grain markets.
One of the main participants was an agri broker from Kyiv. She spoke a language of trade we all understood. I couldn’t help but feel there was a kinship even among competitors.
At the time of the broadcast she briefly mentioned Putin’s threats of invasion. She wasn’t overly worried and felt it was all part of his negotiating tactics.
In her tweet last week, she was raising money for helmets and body armour for a group of volunteers who were delivering medicine and food to people on the front line of the war.
The price of wheat didn’t seem so important.