Eat apples to annoy Putin
Eastern approaches 2014-08-29
Summary:
RUSSIA’S import ban on Polish fruit and vegetables will leave Poland with a big surplus of apples by the end of the year. Last year 677,000 tonnes of Polish apples went to Russia, accounting for 56% of Poland’s apple exports. This year Poland was able to export its apples to Russia only until August 1st, when Russia imposed an import ban.
Poles have responded by celebrating the forbidden fruit, encouraging people via a social-media campaign on Facebook and YouTube (pictured) to “Eat apples to annoy Putin”. Intermarché, a chain of supermarkets, is planning to send 40 tonnes of apples to Kaliningrad, the Russia enclave that shares a border with Poland, drawing humorous comparisons with Russia’s recent “humanitarian convoy” to eastern Ukraine.
From Tallinn to Warsaw, Moscow’s latest trade sanctions arouse strong emotions. Russia is “a totally untrustworthy and unpredictable business partner,” said Dalia Grybauskaitė, Lithuania's president, on August 8th, the day after Russia imposed a wide-ranging ban on...Continue reading