Chapter 521 Detonate the Crisis

After the conclusion of the Austrian Agricultural Economics Conference, the Vienna government announced to the outside world that part of the strategic grain reserves will be replaced before the new grain is harvested.

This happens almost every year, but it is usually bought when international food prices are low and sold when prices are high.

This time is obviously an exception. Although it is not known how much grain the Vienna government is going to sell, violent turbulence has been triggered in the international grain market.

Compared with the beginning of the year, the price of grain on the international market has fallen by 9%. Now, due to the sell-off by the Vienna government, the price of grain has suddenly plummeted by four points.

The capitalists of the pallet can no longer hold on, and the Anglo-Russian deal has cost them a lot, and Austria is now making up for it.

Fortunately, the Vienna government announced a replacement, not a simple sell-off, otherwise the impact would be even more severe.

At the London Grain Market, a middle-aged man dressed in a Chinese suit was learning about prices in the market as usual.

The middle-aged man named James was a small capitalist who owned a flour mill. Since the signing of the Anglo-Russian food agreement, he has panicked.

Before the cheap grains of Russia entered, the capitalists who had a stake in the market were all divided up. By the time James reacted, it was too late.

Of course, no matter how fast the response is, it is useless, this kind of fat is not what he is qualified to share. Originally, James purchased local wheat for processing, but now he can't.

Domestic wheat is not so cheap. If the purchase price is suppressed, it is estimated that he will be directly beaten out.

In order to find a cheap source of grain, James turned his attention to the grain trading market. Affected by international food prices, the price of food here has fallen much more sharply.

Suddenly seeing Austrian wheat appearing on the billboard, James stopped immediately. You must know that in the past ten years, there has been very little Austrian wheat in the international market, and all the flour that has been processed has appeared.

"Raul, what's wrong with this batch of grain, why is the price so low? I remember that Austria doesn't export wheat, shouldn't it be smuggled?"

James asked half-jokingly, no wonder he was surprised, the main reason was that this was not an ordinary low, but it was extremely low, a price beyond James' imagination.

"Mr. James, you are really joking. If it is smuggled, we don't smuggle grain! This kind of bulk commodity is inconvenient to transport, and the tax rate is low, so there is no need to take risks."

James ignored Raul's scolding, grabbed a handful of wheat and looked at it. The preliminary judgment was Chen Liang, but this was not the reason why the price was so low.

"Don't talk nonsense to me, tell me what's wrong with this batch of food? Don't tell me, if there is such a bargain, it's our turn!"

Raul smiled indifferently, took out a newspaper and handed it to James.

"Mr. James, you can see that this batch of grain is all old grain. Not long ago, the Vienna government announced to replace the grain reserve, and the old grain in the warehouse was sold at a discount.

You are also a professional, and you must know that the price of Chenliang will be discounted. Now that this batch of grain has been stored for more than three years, processing into flour will definitely affect the taste.

In Austria, this grain is usually not processed into flour, but is used for brewing, or processed into feed.

This time, the stockpiled grain released by the Vienna government was relatively large, and it only flowed into the international market. The reason why it is so cheap, of course, is that the bureaucrats in London have done a good job.

The new grains of the Russians are so cheap, these old grains can only be cheaper, or to whom? "

It can be seen that Raul is also deeply resentful to the London government. The Anglo-Russian trade agreement directly allows companies to sign contracts with Russians, and their business as middlemen will naturally disappear.

If they hadn't brought the Austrian grains back for sale, they would have closed their doors. The price of grain on the international market is not as cheap as that of Russian grain.

James put down the wheat in his hand, grabbed another handful and rubbed it in his hand.

"Are you sure these grains are all right?"

Raul: "Of course, if there's a problem, I'm going to hell!"

Seeing that James was still hesitating, Lauer added: "Mr James, if in doubt, you can inspect it yourself.

Opportunities like this are rare, and no matter how low the international food price is in the future, it is impossible for it to fall to this level.

You should know that at this price, farmers all over the world would go bankrupt. This has fallen below the cost of production, and that's all. "

James is tempted. If there is no problem with the food, it is just old food, which is completely worth buying. Gritting his teeth, he seemed to have made up his mind.

"I want 30,000 tons, can it be cheaper?"

This is almost all the money James can mobilize, but for the greater good, he decides to gamble.

The price of this batch of grain was fifteen percent cheaper than the grain that the London government got from the Russians. On the surface, it is normal for the price of old grain and new grain to be different, but in fact this price is still too cheap.

The underlying reasons, James wisely did not explore. Anyway, as long as he can make a fortune, what does he care about!

...

Grain from Austria quickly appeared on the UK market starting in May. As soon as this cheap food appeared, it was sought after by unscrupulous capitalists.

Everyone is smart and knows that this kind of price is not normal. Some people even speculate that this is Austria's intention to disrupt the Anglo-Russian deal, but this does not prevent them

get rich.

Grain is different from other commodities, and it is not a problem to store it for three to five years. Anyway, it's all old grain, so it's still old grain.

Bad taste is even more of a minor issue. As long as the processed flour is cheaper, it will not worry about selling in the market.

It's good to be able to fill your stomach, and you want to pursue the taste of food. Ordinary British people are not so proud.

Such a fanfare action naturally attracted the attention of the London government. However, this operation was not done by Austria alone, but also by a group of local British capitalists.

The transaction between the London government and the Russians is also unlikely to benefit everyone, and many capitalists are still losers.

If no action is taken, it will be very difficult for them to survive when the Russian grain floods in.

In this context, they naturally don't mind cooperating with Austria. It's legal trade anyway, and the London government has no right to interfere.

Want to set restrictions to stop Austrian grain dumping. I'm sorry, the congress is not easy to pass. For their own interests, the opponents, holding high the banner of free trade, made Benjamin's cabinet helpless.

The free trade system cannot be overthrown, which is at the heart of Britain's economic policy. Of course, this annoyance has little effect on Prime Minister Benjamin.

The results of the new round of elections have come out and he is now a former prime minister. The worry is the Liberal cabinet being formed, which is digging a hole for rival William Ewart-Gelston.

At the critical moment of the election, the Benjamin cabinet responded negatively. After the transfer of power was completed, it was too late for the London government to take measures.

In just a few short months, Austria has dumped 8.5 million tons of rye, 3 million tons of wheat, 4.3 million tons of corn, 3.2 million tons of soybeans to Britain...

What happened in the UK has also affected the international grain market. It will be a real bloodbath, and it will suddenly plummet by 15%.

The cheap Russian grain has not yet appeared on the international market, and as a result, the price has almost fallen.

At the beginning of the year, rye in the international grain market was still 25 Aegis tons, and now it has dropped to 18.6 Aegis tons; corn has also dropped from 18.8 Aegis tons; it has dropped to 14.1 Aegis tons...

In short, the prices of all staple foods are plummeting, and even the prices of other agricultural products are greatly affected. People's panic is the culprit behind all this.

At this point, everyone will lose money together. Everyone knows that the current price is not the lowest point, and after the autumn harvest, the grain price will usher in a new trough.

Food supply exceeds demand, and the good days of major grain exporters are over. Without the fuse of the Anglo-Russian grain loan agreement, and without the grain dumping of the Vienna government, the agricultural crisis would have unfolded slowly.

It is impossible now, and the crisis will detonate directly as soon as the crisis is approaching. 1872 was destined to be a tragic year, and the slow sales of grain would be a hot topic in the second half of the year.

It's not about the price anymore, it's about not being able to sell it at all. The best way to stabilize food prices is to cut food production and destroy excess agricultural products.

As a responsible big country, it is natural for Austria to take positive measures. In July, the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture issued a call to the world's major grain-producing countries, hoping that all countries would reduce their grain production capacity at the same time.

On August 12, the Vienna government promulgated the "Land Fallow Law", which expressly stipulates that the land for growing food must be fallow. The specific fallow time shall be determined by the local government according to the actual situation.

Laws that appear to be effective are actually very limited in their impact. Austria has a tradition of agricultural fallow, but this time it is clearly stipulated.

According to the estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture, Austria's grain production can be reduced by about two or three percent. This is also a large number, which can alleviate the crisis of overcapacity.

On August 15, the Vienna government promulgated the "Law on Land Reclamation", which clearly stipulates that newly reclaimed land in Europe is prohibited from planting wheat, corn, rye, potatoes and other crops within five years.

These measures cannot quench thirst from far away. In any case, it is impossible to pull up the crops that have already been planted in the ground.

In 1872, Austrian grain production would not decrease, and it would not affect the price of the international grain market in a short period of time.