#Ukraine: Divvying up the breadbasket of Europe
▻http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/23328-ukraine-divvying-up-the-breadbasket-of-europe
Endowed with particularly fertile steppes of rich black soil, Ukraine became known as the “Breadbasket of Europe” during centuries of foreign occupation. According to the CIA World Factbook, the country produced more than 25% of total agricultural output – grains, meat, milk, and vegetables – for the Soviet Union. Today, roughly one out of four workers in Ukraine subsist on cultivating the land, consistently generating net food surpluses. Russia and the European Union purchase nearly 40% of these agricultural exports, which contribute to more than 5% of Ukraine’s annual GDP.
Last year, ousted Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych agreed to lease three million hectares for farming, nearly 5% of Ukraine’s total arable land, to Chinese state-owned companies in exchange for infrastructure projects. China ambitiously plans to develop this new food supply in order to provide for a steadily growing population soon to surpass 1.4 billion people. The leadership in Beijing will likely remain reluctant to back Moscow fully in hopes of protecting their huge agricultural investment by negotiating with the new Ukrainian government.