After the closing of the Austrian Agricultural Economic Conference, the Vienna government announced to the outside world that some strategic reserve grain should be replaced before the new grain is harvested.

This happens almost every year, but it is usually bought when international grain prices are lower and when prices are rising.

This time it was obviously an exception. Although it was not known how much grain the Vienna government was preparing to sell out, the international food market still caused severe turmoil.

Compared with the beginning of the year, food prices in the international market have fallen by 9%. Now, due to the sell-off of the Vienna government, food prices have plummeted by four points.

The pallet capitalists can no longer hold on, and the British and Russian transactions have caused them to suffer heavy losses, and Austria has now made another break.

Fortunately, the Vienna government announced a replacement rather than a simple sell-off, otherwise the impact would be even more intense.

On the London grain trading market, a middle-aged man in gorgeous clothes learned about the prices in the market as usual.

The middle-aged man named James, a small capitalist who owns a flour mill. He has been panicked since the signing of the British-Russian grain agreement.

Before Russia's cheap food has entered, the capitalists who have a lot of shares have been divided up. By the time James reacted, it was too late.

Of course, no matter how fast the reaction is, it is useless. He is not qualified to share this kind of fat. James originally purchased local wheat for processing, but now it is not possible.

The wheat in China is not that cheap. If the acquisition price is suppressed, it will probably be beaten out directly.

In order to find cheap food sources, James turned his attention to the food trading market. Affected by international food prices, the decline in food prices here is indeed much greater.

Suddenly seeing Austrian wheat appear on the billboard, James immediately stopped. You should know that in the past decade, Austrian wheat has rarely appeared in the international market, and all the flour that has been processed is present.

"Raul, what's wrong with this batch of grain? Why is the price so low? I remember Austria does not export wheat. Isn't this smuggling goods?"

James asked half-jokingly, not because he was surprised, mainly because it was not ordinary low, but to the limit, a price that was beyond James' imagination.

"Mr. James, you are really good at joking. If you really smuggle, we won't smuggle food! This kind of commodity is inconvenient to transport and the tax rate is low, there is no need to take risks at all."

James ignored Raul's beating and grabbed a handful of wheat and looked at it. He initially judged it was Chenliang, but this was not a reason why the price was so low.

"Stop talking nonsense, tell me what's wrong with this batch of food? Don't tell me that you can take advantage of this kind of advantage, and 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 that it would replace the reserve grain, 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 old grain will be discounted. Now that this batch of grain has been stored for more than three years, the taste of processing into flour will definitely affect it.

In Austria, this kind of grain is usually not processed into flour, but is used to make wine or feed.

This time, the Vienna government released a large amount of grain in stock, which flowed into the international market. The reason why it was so cheap was of course because the London bureaucrats did a good job.

The new grains of the Russians are so cheap, so these old grains can only be cheaper, otherwise who else should they be sold to?"

It can be seen that Raul also has a deep resentment towards the London government. The British-Russian trade agreement directly allows enterprises to sign contracts with the Russians, and the business of these middlemen will naturally disappear.

If they hadn't brought back Austrian old grain for sale, they would have closed down. The food prices in the international market are not as cheap as Russian grain.

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

"Are you sure that there is no problem with these foods?"

Raul: "Of course, if there is any problem, I'll go to hell!"

Seeing that James was still hesitating, Raul added: "Mr. James, if you have any questions, you can check it yourself.

This kind of opportunity to get a bargain is rare. No matter how low international food prices are in the future, they will not fall to this level.

You should know that if you sell at this price, farmers around the world will go bankrupt. This has fallen below the production cost price, just like this."

James was moved. If there was no problem with the food and just the old grain, it would be worth buying. He gritted his teeth and seemed to have made up his mind.

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

This was almost all the funds James could mobilize, but in order to seek greater benefits, he decided to gamble.

The price of this batch of grain is fifteen percent cheaper than the food obtained by the London government from the Russians. On the surface, it is normal to have a difference in the prices of old and new grains, but in fact, this price is still too cheap.

James wisely did not explore the deep reasons. Anyway, as long as he can get rich, why should he care so much?

...

Starting from May, food from Austria quickly appeared in the British market. As soon as this cheap food appeared, it was sought after by unscrupulous capitalists.

Everyone is smart, knowing that this price is abnormal, and some even speculate that this is Austrian intention to disrupt the British and Russian transactions, but this does not prevent them from getting rich.

Different from other commodities, it is not a problem to store it for three to five years. Anyway, it is all old grain, so it will still be old grain if it is left.

If the taste becomes worse, it is even more of a minor problem. As long as the processed flour is a little cheaper, you will not have to worry about sales in the market.

It would be nice to be able to fill your stomach, and you would also want to pursue the taste of the food. Ordinary British people are not so generous.

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

The deal between the London government and the Russians is also impossible for everyone to benefit, and many capitalists are still those who suffer from their interests.

If no action is taken, it will be very difficult for them to survive when Russian food pours in.

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

I want to set restrictions to prevent Austrian food dumping. Sorry, the Congress was not easy to pass. For the sake of its own interests, the opponents, holding up the banner of free trade, left Benjamin's cabinet helpless.

The free trade system cannot be overturned, which is the core of British economic policy. Of course, this trouble has little impact on Prime Minister Benjamin.

The results of the new round of elections have come out, and he is now the former prime minister. What should be worried about is the Liberal Cabinet being formed, which can be regarded as digging a hole for his rival William Yult Gerston.

At the critical moment of the change of leadership, Benjamin's cabinet responded negatively. After completing the handover of rights, it was too late for the London government to take measures.

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

What happened in the UK also affected the international food market. This would be a real bloody collapse and suddenly plummeted by fifteen%.

The cheap Russians' food has not yet appeared in the international market, and the prices have almost fallen.

At the beginning of the year, rye was still 25 ASUS/ton in the international food market, and now it has fallen to 18.6 ASUS/ton; corn has also fallen from 18.8 ASUS/ton; it has fallen to 14.1 ASUS/ton...

In short, the prices of all staple food are falling sharply, and the prices of other agricultural products are greatly affected. In people's panic, the culprit caused 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 price of grain will usher in a new low.

Food supply is over, and good days for major grain exporters are over. Without the fuse of the UK-Russian grain loan agreement and the dumping of grain from the Vienna government, this agricultural crisis will slowly erupt.

It is impossible now, and the crisis ignited directly as soon as it approaches. 1872 was destined to be a tragic year, and unsalable food sales will become a hot topic in the second half of the year.

This is no longer a matter of price, but it cannot be sold at all. To stabilize the price of grain, the best way is to reduce grain production and destroy excess agricultural products.

As a responsible major country, Austria naturally needs to take positive measures. In July, the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture issued a call to major grain-producing countries around the world, hoping that all countries will reduce their grain production capacity at the same time.

On August 12, the Vienna government issued the Land Falling Law, which clearly stipulates that the land that planted grain must be fallow. The specific fallow time shall be determined by local governments based on actual conditions.

The law that seems to be very effective actually has very limited influence. Austria has a tradition of agricultural fallow, but it is simply that the regulations have been clearly stated this time.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture's estimates, Austria's grain output can be reduced by about two or three percentage points. This is also a significant number that can alleviate the crisis of overcapacity.

On August 15, the Vienna government issued the "Land Reclamation Law", which clearly stipulates that newly reclaimed land in Europe will be prohibited from growing various crops such as wheat, corn, rye, potatoes, etc. within five years.

These measures cannot quench near thirst. No matter what, it is impossible to pull out the crops that have been planted in the fields.

Austria's grain production in 1872 will not decrease, and will not affect the prices of the international grain market in a short period of time.
Chapter completed!