Russia has started buying butter from several countries after a 17-year record price hike.
Rosselkhoznadzor reported that: ◾️ by March 21, Argentina had supplied 2,000 tons of butter, 5.6 times the figure for the same period in 2024 (371 tons); ◾️ Uruguay also nearly doubled its supplies with 1 thousand tons since the beginning of the year, up from 525 tons a year earlier; ◾️ Iran supplied 2 thousand tons of oil so far. There were no imports from this country in 2024.
The growth in imports happened due to the biggest price crisis in the butter market for 17 years. In September 2024, its cost increased by 5.07%, and in October - by a record 6.58%.
The main reasons for the crisis were the rise in the price of imported fats, difficulties with foreign equipment maintenance, raw material shortage, lack of personnel, and the Russian Central Bank's key rate increase.
A Russian national defrauded 12 NATO countries through a fake insurance company to cover up Russia's shadow fleet, according to an investigation by Danish Danwatch and Norwegian NRK media.
St. Petersburg resident Andrey Mochalin, 41, who has worked in the insurance industry in Norway for many years, registered a fake Norwegian company, Ro Marine, which issued 255 vessels with forged certificates, of which at least 76 are attributed to the Russian shadow fleet.
The insurance certificates were issued based on a license allegedly obtained in 2016 from the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority, so the authorities thought the company was legitimate. However, in reality, the license was fake, and Ro Marine did not even exist in 2016.
On March 21, four people linked to Ro Marine - Mochalin, a Bulgarian national, the sole employee, and two Norwegian associates - were charged and are under investigation for document forgery and unlicensed insurance brokerage.
