WEBVTT 00:00:05.17 --> 00:00:09.17 [ Michal ]The West doesn't want to buy the foodstuff we produce 00:00:09.19 --> 00:00:14.14 They cut us out of local markets and we can't sell to Russia because 00:00:14.15 --> 00:00:21.07 politicians pursue their global interests at Polish farmers and Russian consumers' expense 00:00:39.04 --> 00:00:45.00 [ Piotr ]I try to be optimistic, if I was a pessimist, I think I'd look for another job 00:00:45.01 --> 00:00:49.05 Some days, I feel I've had enough and really want to quit 00:00:49.06 --> 00:00:50.17 Maybe next year… 00:00:50.18 --> 00:00:54.22 maybe next year will be better, something may change 00:01:15.02 --> 00:01:19.04 Everyone says fruit growing is unprofitable in Poland 00:01:19.05 --> 00:01:25.01 but many generations have lived off it for so long, what now, leave it all, quit? 00:01:25.02 --> 00:01:27.19 Then what? A supermarket checkout? 00:01:28.06 --> 00:01:29.10 I don't know 00:01:30.12 --> 00:01:34.02 If I had to shut it all down, what would I do next? 00:01:37.108 00:01:46.828 [ VO ]The food import ban put in place by Russia in August 2014, was a response to a number of political and economic sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union. 00:02:00.430 00:02:07.030 It threatened to push a huge number of farms to the brink of ruin, and that urged people to take to the streets of European cities. 00:02:11.16 --> 00:02:17.11 [ Fernando ]It’s very bad news because the agricultural sector suffers from 00:02:17.22 --> 00:02:20.03 a lack of political judgment 00:02:20.06 --> 00:02:24.04 Prices are falling because supply exceeds demand 00:02:24.08 --> 00:02:30.22 Russia is a huge market for lots of fruit and vegetables from Catalonia and Spain 00:02:34.22 --> 00:02:38.24 [ Lorenzo ]It’s peak season for fruit and vegetables 00:02:39.05 --> 00:02:41.16 They locked us out of the market, 00:02:41.17 --> 00:02:46.20 and we can't sell our produce, or take it somewhere else 00:02:47.02 --> 00:02:50.01 [ Fernando ]We hope that in a few weeks, maybe days, 00:02:50.08 --> 00:02:54.12 a month at most, all will be resolved and go back to normal 00:02:54.17 --> 00:02:57.12 the Russian market is important to us 00:02:57.14 --> 00:03:02.11 We make a good product, and we want it resolved as fast as possible 00:03:02.12 --> 00:03:05.03 so we can resume selling to Russia 00:03:42.13 --> 00:03:47.00 [ Davide ]I started work when I was 14, after high school, I liked it 00:03:47.01 --> 00:03:50.06 I've liked being in the field since I was a kid 00:03:50.07 --> 00:03:54.00 I always wanted to be in the open air, I like it a lot 00:04:20.01 --> 00:04:22.11 It takes patience, and passion 00:04:22.12 --> 00:04:28.12 Yes, passion, it's a lot like raising a child, rake the grass, plough and water the soil 00:04:28.21 --> 00:04:31.21 I work every day, from April to late autumn 00:04:31.22 --> 00:04:36.06 We start with asparagus, then we harvest peaches, zucchini 00:04:36.07 --> 00:04:37.11 and kiwi too 00:05:02.11 --> 00:05:07.24 The whole family has to work with you, if the whole family wasn't in it, 00:05:08.00 --> 00:05:10.07 farming would be overwhelming 00:05:10.08 --> 00:05:14.04 Costs are huge, we're up against giant corporations, 00:05:14.05 --> 00:05:16.14 we can't grow more, it's hard 00:05:16.19 --> 00:05:18.22 and getting even harder 00:05:47.16 --> 00:05:50.00 Mum and Dad work all day long too 00:05:50.06 --> 00:05:53.03 They're used to getting up early 00:05:53.06 --> 00:05:57.12 They work in rain or wind and under the scorching sun too 00:05:57.13 --> 00:06:02.07 And they enjoy it! Like me, they like being in the open air 00:06:05.12 --> 00:06:08.05 My wife sometimes helps out too, 00:06:08.12 --> 00:06:11.05 only in summer, our kids are in school 00:06:11.07 --> 00:06:17.05 Francesca helps, she doesn't really like it but Paolo might carry on my work 00:06:17.10 --> 00:06:20.20 He enjoys it. Yes, all the family work with me 00:06:24.430 00:06:36.950 [ Mogherini ]The European Union has in this five years not only imposed sanctions but also kept the unity over time, on the sanctions that were constantly renewed. I've always said from the very beginning the objective of 00:06:36.950 00:06:45.447 sanctions is not that they stay forever; it's to put pressure in order to overcome the situation, so the objective of sanctions is that one day they would be lifted but we do not see positive steps. 00:06:46.09 --> 00:06:51.15 [ Davide ]We were in profit sending kiwi to Russia and Libya, we made good money then 00:06:51.22 --> 00:06:53.13 We had Russia… 00:06:53.14 --> 00:06:56.04 who else… England, France… 00:06:56.07 --> 00:06:58.15 They bought peaches and kiwi… 00:06:58.19 --> 00:07:00.16 We sold to those three, 00:07:00.18 --> 00:07:02.13 and prices were higher 00:07:02.15 --> 00:07:06.13 Now Russia doesn't buy from us, only France and England 00:07:06.14 --> 00:07:09.14 They say: we'll pay this price. Not happy? 00:07:09.15 --> 00:07:14.07 That's your problem! There's more choice now, prices have fallen 00:07:14.08 --> 00:07:19.19 It's important to me that people better appreciate all the hard work we do 00:08:00.05 --> 00:08:04.16 [ Carlos ]Remember that Russian sanctions will stay for the whole year, 00:08:04.17 --> 00:08:07.24 they won't just affect now, but the future too 00:08:08.00 --> 00:08:12.21 We can't completely lose a vital market, that we worked on for years 00:08:12.23 --> 00:08:18.08 and it would be very difficult to recover demand and re-establish 00:08:18.21 --> 00:08:20.18 exports in a short time 00:08:23.285 00:08:29.925 [ VO ]The anti-Russian sanctions have had adverse economic consequences and caused a lot of controversy among European Union countries. 00:08:30.04 --> 00:08:34.05 [ Gianluca ]I think Europe is making foolish choices against Russia 00:08:34.06 --> 00:08:37.11 and it's millions of Europeans who must pay 00:08:37.19 --> 00:08:41.13 All because you support America and its interests 00:08:41.15 --> 00:08:44.11 I think we should work with Russia! 00:08:52.607 00:08:58.007 [ VO ]At the same time, inevitable import phase-out has led to a substantial upturn in the Russian agricultural sector. 00:08:58.08 --> 00:09:02.24 [ Thomas ]Russia’s very natural environment has a lot of potential 00:09:03.04 --> 00:09:09.21 I get the impression that Russia's government does a lot to develop the agricultural sector, 00:09:09.22 --> 00:09:12.19 I mean, they're investing heavily now 00:09:21.16 --> 00:09:27.17 I know many new fruit trees have been planted around Krasnodar, and on a huge scale 00:09:27.18 --> 00:09:32.18 They don't use small plots like us but 500, 600 or 1,000 hectares 00:09:32.19 --> 00:09:36.10 In time, it'll only get harder to export to Russia, 00:09:36.11 --> 00:09:40.15 their production is growing and they're doing a lot for it 00:09:52.05 --> 00:09:57.00 German exports to Russia were quite low, only about 10%, I think 00:09:57.01 --> 00:09:59.24 So the embargo didn't affect us directly 00:10:00.00 --> 00:10:05.08 What happened in 2014 wasn't a real embargo, it was just a backlash 00:10:12.09 --> 00:10:19.00 Poland though, the largest producer and supplier to Russia, had two very bad years 00:10:24.13 --> 00:10:30.20 Ten years ago, they planted many apple trees in Poland, specially for the Russian market 00:10:30.21 --> 00:10:32.23 Then 2014 happened! 00:10:34.09 --> 00:10:37.21 The trees were just fruiting at full capacity 00:10:37.22 --> 00:10:44.02 The apples, about half the total yield, were meant for Russia but they couldn't use them 00:10:44.03 --> 00:10:47.14 It had a major impact on the Polish market 00:10:47.15 --> 00:10:51.17 which was very weak and mainly export-oriented 00:10:51.19 --> 00:10:56.08 So Poland suffered much more after 2014, than Germany 00:10:56.15 --> 00:11:01.15 Germany mainly shipped a variety called Gloucester to Russia, 00:11:01.22 --> 00:11:05.11 red apples that are quite big and taste good too 00:11:05.12 --> 00:11:08.19 but red apples aren't in great demand here, 00:11:08.20 --> 00:11:11.17 so we had to uproot almost all of them 00:11:32.07 --> 00:11:39.01 [ Thomas ]Of course, despite all that, it would be good if the market reopened, old contacts were restored 00:11:39.05 --> 00:11:42.19 and the goods that were grown specially for this… 00:11:42.20 --> 00:11:47.10 that we grew for it, could be sold somewhere else again 00:11:49.00 --> 00:11:52.12 The confrontation shifted to economic systems 00:11:52.13 --> 00:11:56.04 that compete with each other and make no progress 00:11:56.05 --> 00:12:03.05 What America does against Russia and China is just a struggle for world market dominance 00:12:03.07 --> 00:12:09.23 In my opinion, it's not the perennial East-West problem but a struggle between opposing blocs 00:12:10.04 --> 00:12:14.13 Developing the market systems in Russia and China against 00:12:14.14 --> 00:12:18.19 those in Western Europe and America that always dominated 00:12:20.210 00:12:29.570 [ VO ]Some European Union countries claim that there was no real need for such rash political decisions that wrought disastrous consequences. 00:12:34.04 --> 00:12:38.09 [ Joachim ]Our exports to Russia have been simply cut in half 00:12:38.12 --> 00:12:44.20 It has led to a widespread collapse, in value creation too, among other things 00:12:45.07 --> 00:12:51.00 We hurt Russian dignity, good people with rich culture and Christian traditions 00:12:51.01 --> 00:12:52.10 That was wrong, 00:12:52.20 --> 00:12:57.09 and now, they're not behaving as we would have them behave 00:12:57.17 --> 00:13:08.15 We urge policymakers to intensify diplomatic negotiations to mitigate the current situation 00:14:07.24 --> 00:14:11.18 [ Frans ]We must be more flexible, never have a constant price 00:14:11.23 --> 00:14:17.12 I mean, if we follow the market, we have ups and downs depending on many factors; 00:14:17.13 --> 00:14:21.03 first the weather, if the weather abroad is bad… 00:14:21.12 --> 00:14:23.02 you can profit more 00:14:23.04 --> 00:14:26.19 This summer, for example was very hot 00:14:27.12 --> 00:14:31.22 So all the shops were filled with goods better than ours 00:14:31.23 --> 00:14:35.23 and then you find yourself in a deep… hole… as we say 00:14:54.24 --> 00:15:00.08 [ Luc ]We felt that there was some tension between Russia and the European Union 00:15:00.11 --> 00:15:05.03 Of course, eventually that led to a boycott, specifically... 00:15:05.22 --> 00:15:07.21 of agricultural produce 00:15:07.23 --> 00:15:11.07 They chose a relatively small sector, 00:15:11.17 --> 00:15:16.10 and it had a profound impact on individual businesses 00:15:16.15 --> 00:15:19.13 It came as a complete surprise to us, 00:15:19.14 --> 00:15:24.12 especially the fact that they didn't boycott industries like steel 00:15:24.13 --> 00:15:27.19 but specifically, the agricultural sector 00:15:27.20 --> 00:15:32.19 We really regretted this and still do, because we can't understand 00:15:33.06 --> 00:15:39.19 how a specific sector can be held responsible for the whole political field, 00:15:39.21 --> 00:15:43.24 or even partly for political affairs and situations 00:16:04.24 --> 00:16:08.13 [ Frans ]At first of course, everyone was scared: 00:16:08.15 --> 00:16:12.03 'I won't be able to sell my tomatoes anywhere!' 00:16:12.04 --> 00:16:15.14 And we all wondered, why agriculture? 00:16:15.16 --> 00:16:17.14 Why vegetable farming? 00:16:17.15 --> 00:16:23.05 It was due to contradictions that should have been settled elsewhere 00:16:27.18 --> 00:16:30.18 [ Rinus ]Of course, everyone coped in their own way 00:16:30.19 --> 00:16:35.10 We genuinely regretted that we couldn't sell to Russia anymore 00:16:35.18 --> 00:16:39.24 Some didn't harvest at all but I think that's very wasteful, 00:16:40.00 --> 00:16:45.01 after all, you tend your fruit all year long, we did, as a family business 00:16:49.00 --> 00:16:54.22 This region, where we are now, is where you find most of Holland's pear orchards 00:16:54.23 --> 00:16:59.13 More than 1,000 hectares of pears in just one municipality 00:16:59.24 --> 00:17:06.07 In the first year of the boycott, farmers just left their fruit hanging on the trees 00:17:06.08 --> 00:17:10.11 The boycott's consequences are still underestimated 00:17:10.12 --> 00:17:12.13 We were robbed of our money 00:17:12.14 --> 00:17:17.24 And think of all the doubts we had: 'Should we harvest at all? What do I do?' 00:17:18.00 --> 00:17:23.01 They are all the negative effects of the boycott 00:17:23.02 --> 00:17:27.23 A political decision and no one thought about the consequences 00:17:28.10 --> 00:17:31.22 for families whose living is from hard labour 00:17:32.06 --> 00:17:36.06 I think it all influenced market prices 00:17:36.07 --> 00:17:39.14 the goods had to be shipped further away, 00:17:39.15 --> 00:17:43.11 and even though that market was more expensive, 00:17:44.01 --> 00:17:45.21 profits were no higher, 00:17:45.22 --> 00:17:52.04 I mean prices changed because everything we didn't ship to Russia had to be sold elsewhere 00:18:13.423 00:18:24.823 [ VO ]In October 2017, German newspaper Die Welt published an article where it said that the European Union lost 30 billion euro because of the very anti-Russian sanctions they imposed. 00:18:25.417 00:18:30.777 It especially affected Eastern Europe. Many Polish farmers went broke and even committed suicides. 00:18:31.02 --> 00:18:37.15 [ Piotr ]Yes, in the closed gas chambers there's only 1.5% oxygen and 1.5% carbon dioxide 00:18:37.16 --> 00:18:41.13 It's a very easy death, just go in and fall asleep 00:18:44.23 --> 00:18:48.23 They commit suicide in airtight chambers, I don't get it 00:18:48.24 --> 00:18:51.13 It just doesn't solve anything 00:18:51.16 --> 00:18:55.23 Even the equipment they had on their farms, 00:18:55.24 --> 00:19:00.13 they could've sold it all and moved on, right? 00:19:01.00 --> 00:19:07.14 But it's mainly due to loans, big debts, bailiffs could come and seize all their property 00:19:07.15 --> 00:19:10.12 and people around would laugh at them, 00:19:10.13 --> 00:19:15.23 they'd be a laughing stock because they went broke and lost their property 00:19:15.24 --> 00:19:20.10 It's about unfulfilled ambition and the goals you set 00:19:20.11 --> 00:19:26.04 that's a more psychological approach but I don't want to go deep into… 00:19:26.05 --> 00:19:32.00 the mentality of people who plan suicide but the main reason is always money 00:19:36.05 --> 00:19:41.02 This is a farm that's been run by several generations 00:19:41.24 --> 00:19:45.19 It's the third generation caring for this farm 00:19:46.12 --> 00:19:51.20 All the trees were uprooted. Only recently, there were apples here 00:19:53.17 --> 00:19:58.21 One more like this… another uprooted area. This one's next for uprooting 00:19:59.21 --> 00:20:03.12 Very old orchards, all cut down, I'll cut mine too 00:20:03.13 --> 00:20:06.16 I'm quite busy with apples, commercially, 00:20:06.17 --> 00:20:10.10 so I don't have time but I think I'll do it by spring 00:20:14.15 --> 00:20:18.08 The first year after the embargo I didn't feel shock, 00:20:18.09 --> 00:20:23.10 or that everything was crumbling and nothing would sell, no, it was OK 00:20:23.14 --> 00:20:27.02 It was the third year, maybe, after the embargo 00:20:27.03 --> 00:20:32.13 that we started to feel it and face major problems with fruit sales 00:20:32.14 --> 00:20:33.20 Here's five 00:20:33.21 --> 00:20:37.02 I expected more like five, five and a half 00:20:37.22 --> 00:20:41.07 Well, five, almost five and a half is OK for us 00:20:41.08 --> 00:20:45.04 - Take this. Wait, this one. No - The small one, right? 00:20:45.20 --> 00:20:50.09 This is a bad crate. I'll tell the truth, when I sorted the apples, 00:20:50.10 --> 00:20:54.21 - they were mostly soft apples, not solid - Sometimes you get them 00:20:56.22 --> 00:20:58.07 Like this one… 00:20:59.08 --> 00:21:00.24 There's no colour… 00:21:01.04 --> 00:21:03.00 It doesn't need colour 00:21:03.17 --> 00:21:05.10 If you have about... 00:21:05.16 --> 00:21:08.23 30% like this… there won't be a problem… 00:21:09.17 --> 00:21:11.01 Six-plus! 00:21:18.182 00:21:31.302 [ VO ]Between late 2014 and mid-2018, European Union provided cash relief of 500 million euro to fruit and vegetable producers, to compensate for the disposal of unsold produce. 00:21:31.10 --> 00:21:35.14 [ Piotr ]Another load of trash, that money was just thrown away 00:21:35.15 --> 00:21:40.00 The smarter ones, those with connections, did benefit from it 00:21:40.13 --> 00:21:46.08 The public prosecutor should look into it but I don't want to discuss that in public 00:21:47.06 --> 00:21:50.14 Yes, it really did happen, there was money, 00:21:50.15 --> 00:21:52.03 it's just that... 00:21:52.07 --> 00:21:53.23 not everyone got it 00:21:54.18 --> 00:22:01.18 So it sounds good, all those millions or even billions, but we have lots of farms, 00:22:01.19 --> 00:22:06.12 count all the farmers and it's not even enough for half of them 00:22:21.16 --> 00:22:24.02 [ Roman ]It’s a struggle for our survival 00:22:24.03 --> 00:22:29.17 The situation is that the money we are able to make from selling the apples 00:22:29.18 --> 00:22:33.14 doesn't even cover the costs of production 00:22:38.21 --> 00:22:44.12 I have always been an optimist and looked to the future with hope 00:22:45.21 --> 00:22:49.23 That's why I was counting on the next generations 00:22:50.08 --> 00:22:53.12 But in this crisis situation, 00:22:54.09 --> 00:22:56.15 my grandchildren... 00:22:57.01 --> 00:23:00.03 college graduates and students, 00:23:01.01 --> 00:23:05.05 they see their futures in other areas 00:23:06.09 --> 00:23:07.19 They just say, 00:23:08.01 --> 00:23:09.05 'Grandpa, 00:23:09.10 --> 00:23:12.17 there are no prospects in fruit farming!' 00:23:13.09 --> 00:23:16.05 So, all that's left for me to do 00:23:16.06 --> 00:23:19.02 is to uproot the old orchards, 00:23:19.07 --> 00:23:23.23 and I won't be planting any new saplings 00:23:24.11 --> 00:23:26.08 Polish fruit farming, 00:23:26.09 --> 00:23:28.19 Polish vegetable farming, 00:23:28.20 --> 00:23:32.12 Polish agriculture, are at a sharp turn 00:23:33.11 --> 00:23:40.06 It's so sharp that some people might skid off the road, unfortunately 00:23:40.11 --> 00:23:41.22 That's life 00:23:42.14 --> 00:23:45.11 I think we would profit more if… 00:23:45.24 --> 00:23:47.21 if there was accord… 00:23:47.22 --> 00:23:51.17 between the Russian Federation and European Union 00:23:51.22 --> 00:23:56.11 Partnership, joint development… of the states and people 00:23:56.12 --> 00:23:58.21 Teras, Teras is photogenic! 00:24:11.24 --> 00:24:17.22 [ Micha ]Because of this odd policy, we can't sell our fruit and vegetables to Russia 00:24:17.23 --> 00:24:19.06 That's not OK 00:24:19.07 --> 00:24:23.13 So, we demand diplomatic and foreign policy changes 00:24:23.14 --> 00:24:27.09 to promote trade with our colleagues in Russia 00:24:31.22 --> 00:24:37.03 [ Nicolas ]Russia is a big market where we had just started working 00:24:37.04 --> 00:24:43.17 This market has huge potential and to stop at the peak of development is very difficult 00:24:45.20 --> 00:24:50.20 We expect government support and a lifting of the embargo on Russia 00:24:50.21 --> 00:24:53.09 because we understand that... 00:24:54.08 --> 00:24:58.05 Russia isn't responsible for the current situation, 00:24:58.06 --> 00:25:04.05 its cause lies in our government's position with regard to ideological differences 00:25:06.11 --> 00:25:11.16 We're waiting for an agreement to end this deterioration in relations 00:25:18.395 00:25:28.634 [ Mogherini ]We could only wish to see positive developments, and we would always be ready to re-consider this. But at the moment we see rather the opposite, more negative developments on the ground.