Great grain robbery

The Great grain robbery refers to the 1972 purchase of U.S. grain (mainly wheat and corn) by the Soviet Union at subsidized prices, which resulted in higher grain prices in the United States.[1][2]

Russian wheat deal or Soviet wheat deal

This event was referred to in U.S. media of the day as "The Russian Wheat Deal" or "The Soviet Wheat Deal."[3][4][5] The term "Great Grain Robbery" is a pun referring to the "Great Train Robbery". Author Martha Hamilton introduced the term as the title of Chapter VII of her book, The Great American Grain Robbery & Other Tales, as part of an allegation that the U.S. Government was robbing American taxpayers in order to support grain trading companies.[1] The terms "Russian wheat deal" and "Soviet wheat deal" fell into disuse since the sales included corn, barley and oats as well as wheat.

References

  1. 1 2 Hamilton, Martha M. (1972). The Great American Grain Robbery & Other Stories. Washington, D.C.: Agribusiness Accountability Project. p. 313.
  2. Trager, James (1975). The Great Grain Robbery. New York: Ballantine. p. 233. ISBN 0345241509.
  3. "Russian Wheat Deal". MarketsWiki.com. 4 December 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  4. Luttrell, Clifton B. (October 1973), The Russian Wheat Deal - Hindsight vs. Foresight, Reprint No. 81 (PDF), Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved July 26, 2011
  5. Alexander, Holmes (Sep 6, 1974). "Who was the real villain in Russian wheat deal?". Rome News-Tribune. Retrieved July 26, 2011.

Further reading

Books

GAO reports

News coverage

Oral histories


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