{"id":110200,"date":"2014-03-25T15:41:44","date_gmt":"2014-03-25T15:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?p=110200"},"modified":"2014-03-25T15:41:44","modified_gmt":"2014-03-25T15:41:44","slug":"ukraine-next-corporate-cash-cow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/latest-news\/ukraine-next-corporate-cash-cow\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine – The Next Corporate Cash-Cow"},"content":{"rendered":"

JP Sottile\u00a0<\/strong>
\nRINF Alternative News<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

As the US and EU apply sanctions on Russia over its annexation\u2019 of Crimea, JP Sottile reveals the corporate annexation of Ukraine. For Cargill, Chevron, Monsanto, there\u2019s a gold mine of profits to be made from agri-business and energy exploitation.<\/em><\/p>\n

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The potential here for agriculture \/ agribusiness is amazing \u2026 production here could double \u2026 Ukraine\u2019s agriculture could be a real gold mine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

On 12th January 2014, a\u00a0reported 50,000 \u201cpro-Western\u201d Ukrainians<\/a>\u00a0descended upon Kiev\u2019s Independence Square to protest against the government of President Viktor Yanukovych.<\/p>\n

Stoked in part by\u00a0an attack on opposition leader Yuriy Lutsenko<\/a>, the protest marked the beginning of the end of Yanukovych\u2019s four year-long government.<\/p>\n

That same day, the\u00a0Financial Times reported<\/a>\u00a0a major deal for US agribusiness titan Cargill.<\/p>\n

Business confidence never faltered<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the turmoil within Ukrainian politics after Yanukovych rejected a major trade deal with the European Union\u00a0just seven weeks earlier<\/a>, Cargill was confident enough about the future to fork over $200 million to buy a stake in Ukraine\u2019s UkrLandFarming.<\/p>\n

According to the Financial Times, UkrLandFarming is the world\u2019s eighth-largest land cultivator and\u00a0second biggest egg producer<\/a>. And those aren\u2019t the only eggs in Cargill\u2019s increasingly ample basket.<\/p>\n

On 13th December 2013, Cargill announced the\u00a0purchase of a stake in a Black Sea grain terminal<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Novorossiysk on Russia\u2019s Black Sea coast.<\/p>\n

The port \u2014 to the east of Russia\u2019s strategically and historically important Crimean naval base \u2014 gives them a major entry-point to Russian markets and adds them to the list of Big Ag companies\u00a0investing in ports around the Black Sea<\/a>, both in Russia and Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Cargill has been in Ukraine for\u00a0over two decades<\/a>, investing in grain elevators and acquiring a major\u00a0Ukrainian animal feed company<\/a>\u00a0in 2011. And, based on its investment in UkrLandFarming, Cargill was decidedly confident amidst the\u00a0post-EU deal chaos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a stark juxtaposition to the alarm bells ringing out from the US media, bellicose politicians on Capitol Hill and perplexed policymakers in the White House.<\/p>\n

Instability \u2014 what instablility?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s even starker when compared to the anxiety expressed by Morgan Williams, President and CEO of the\u00a0US-Ukraine Business Council<\/a>\u00a0– which, according to its website, has been \u201cPromoting US-Ukraine business relations since 1995.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams was interviewed by the\u00a0International Business Times<\/a>\u00a0on March 13\u00a0and, despite Cargill\u2019s demonstrated willingness to spend, he said, \u201cThe instability has forced businesses to just go about their daily business and not make future plans for investment, expansion and hiring more employees.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, Williams, who does double-duty as Director of Government Affairs at the private equity firm\u00a0SigmaBleyzer<\/a>, claimed, \u201cBusiness plans have been at a standstill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apparently, he wasn\u2019t aware of Cargill\u2019s investment, which is odd given the fact that he could\u2019ve simply called Van A. Yeutter, Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Cargill, and asked him about his company\u2019s quite active business plan.<\/p>\n

There is little doubt Williams has the phone number because Mr. Yuetter serves on\u00a0the Executive Committee<\/a>\u00a0of the selfsame US-Ukraine Business Council. It\u2019s quite a cozy investment club, too.<\/p>\n

According to his\u00a0SigmaBleyzer profile<\/a>, Williams \u201cstarted his work regarding Ukraine in 1992\u00e2\u20ac\u00b3 and has since advised American agribusinesses \u201cinvesting in the former Soviet Union.\u201d As an experienced fixer for Big Ag, he must be fairly friendly with the folks on the Executive Committee.<\/p>\n

Big Ag luminaries \u2014 Monsanto, Eli Lilly, Dupont, John Deere \u2026<\/p>\n

And what a committee it is \u2014 it\u2019s a veritable who\u2019s who of Big Ag. Among the luminaries working tirelessly and no doubt selflessly for a better, freer Ukraine are:<\/p>\n