"Ukraine grain" is actually owned by US/EU corporate giants
"Forced collectivization" - Vanguard style
Here, Vanguard, et al are doing for real what Stalin and the USSR were accused of doing. Except it is all of Ukraine that is being "liquidated" - physically, and before the eyes of the world.
When people talk about "Ukrainian grain" they're actually talking about grain that is now owned by US and EU mega-corporations such as Vanguard Group, Kopernik Global Investors, BNP Asset Management Holding, Goldman Sachs-owned NN Investment Partners Holdings, and Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s sovereign wealth fund.
Several large US pension funds, foundations, and university endowments are also invested in Ukrainian land through NCH Capital – a US-based private equity fund, which is the fifth largest landholder in the country.
How is the takeover of agricultural land happening?
Whereas at least 4.3 million hectares are (as of March of last year) already controlled by agribusinesses in Ukraine, a law passed in March 2020 lifted the country’s 19-year moratorium on sales of agricultural land, allowing such transactions since July 2021.
This law was rejected by a vast majority of Ukrainians, who massively protested against it in 2019 and 2020. The measure, imposed by Western financial institutions that have become major lenders to the country since 2014, was passed at a time when mandatory COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were in place across the country, effectively quelling further protests or demonstrations.
The stated objective of this law was to ensure the exit of “less productive farmers” from agriculture and promote further concentration of land.
Whereas at least 4.3 million hectares are (as of March of last year) already controlled by agribusinesses in Ukraine, a law passed in March 2020 lifted the country’s 19-year moratorium on sales of agricultural land, allowing such transactions since July 2021.
This law was rejected by a vast majority of Ukrainians, who massively protested against it in 2019 and 2020. The measure, imposed by Western financial institutions that have become major lenders to the country since 2014, was passed at a time when mandatory COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were in place across the country, effectively quelling further protests or demonstrations.
The stated objective of this law was to ensure the exit of “less productive farmers” from agriculture and promote further concentration of land.
See detailed report - which is actually 18 months out of date - here.
