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The White House says Russia and Ukraine have agreed to ensure safe passage for commercial shipping in the Black Sea.
In a moment, I'll talk to a grain farmer who could benefit from that.
We'll also check on a giant tunnel linking Denmark and Germany.
Everybody is the winner because obviously businesses, they will be closer connected and then by not having extra distance to drive you will also cut in carbon.
And we'll visit a Bitcoin mine in Zambia.
It's very noisy but it's a beautiful noise.
Because the truth is this noise means we're making money.
First, to that news just in the last couple of minutes, the White House says both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to ensure safe passage for commercial shipping and stop military strikes in the Black Sea.
Now this deal would allow both countries to export grain safely.
I want to talk now to Alex Lisitsa, who is a grain farmer farming in the Sui region of Ukraine, president of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, who's live with us from Lviv.
Alex, thank you very much indeed for joining us.
What's your reaction to what you're hearing?
Yeah. Good afternoon.
You know, like, it looks like we are talking right there about the kind of symbolic agreement between the US, Ukraine and Russia, because they did not, probably, achieve the big progress and the big agreements, they've started with something, because just for better understanding, Ukraine has exported last year about 70 million tons of grains via Odessa and via Black Sea.
The differences between the pre -war routes and the current routes is actually how do we export that.
So that means pre -war route was actually directly from the major Ukrainian ports, like Odessa, through the international waters directly to the Turkish streets of Bosporus and into the world markets.
So after Russia withdrew from the grain deal in 2023, Ukraine has established a humanitarian shipping corridor.
And that means that runs through the territorial waters of Romania and Bulgaria, which are NATO members, so ships apart from Odessa and smaller parts of the Nube river and they sail close to the Romanian coastline.
So that can be actually kind of benefit for Ukrainian farmers because of those roots, they are different shipping costs.
So another one issue is that really can will happen, so that can be also, actually, can influence also the insurance costs for the Ukrainian farmers and Ukrainian traders.
OK, so pretty good news, though.
I hear what you say that it might be a sort of consolation prize for the lack of something bigger to come out of these talks in Saudi Arabia.
But from the point of view of your farms, your business, have you any idea how much difference it makes?
You know, the pre -warships, because we're from a desert directly to Turkey, through international waters, about 30, 40 US dollars per ton of grains.
Right now we have about 50 -55 US dollars per ton, so that means the difference is about 20, 15 -20 US dollars per ton if you multiply that with the number of exported grains that it would be significantly more for Ukraine.
And Russian farmers benefit as well from this?
I'm not sure because Russia has about 35 % of the global yield market currently and they have had no troubles actually with exporting of the grains via Black Sea, another one issue and there we need to wait for the detours, or assume that Russia will get probably also some kind of benefits because they will be able to use international insurance companies.
But also very important for Russians to get access to the financial bank or financial resources, international banks but we need to to make for the details because we don't know them.
Some of your farms pretty much neighboring Russia, what's it been like trying to run them successfully with the conflict going on around you?
Yeah, that's a quite tough job for my team because we allocated 17 kilometers from the Kursk region which is as we know, the actually the frontline right now and you know we do our job were well.
And last year Ukrainian farmers have shown very good results.
But in the same time, of course, we see how it looks like.
And our Ukrainian farmers have learned a lot of things.
And right now we are actually harvesting in the Sumo region with a special equipment which is anti -drones equipment, because Russians they heat even the Ukrainian combines.
So that is quite tough job, as I said before, especially to work in the border regions.
And another one, big issue is of course lack of human capital so it's not easy actually to find any young ladies and boys which are going to work for us but at the same time we are not complaining we know that we are fighting for the right stuff and we have no choice we have to work and we don't give up.
And if what's been announced in the past few minutes comes to pass and then sticks because grain is such a big part of the Ukrainian economy it can have a big impact on the country could have actually impact on global wheat prices?
Yes, absolutely. For Ukraine, it's actually a core business because 60 % of the Ukrainian export is coming from agriculture.
So that means if agriculture does not work in Ukraine, there will be definitely a huge problem for the national economy.
And as I said before, Russia and Ukraine together, they cover about 50 % of the global wheat market and about 30 % of the global corn markets.
And also about 50 % of the global sunflower oil markets.
So they are actually two superpowers on the global market.
And if there will be kind of agreement.
So that will definitely affect the global prices, but we should not forget there are also other global players like Brazil, Australia, Argentina, and United States.
Alex, thank you for being with us.
I really appreciate your company.
Alex Xixi, the grain farmer in Ukraine.
With reaction to that breaking story, let's get more now from Fiona Sincotta, Senior Market Analyst at Citie Index, who's with me live.
This could be quite a big step not necessarily in terms of ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine But the the impact it's having on global food prices Fiona Yes, I mean, you know I think this is a step forward into sort of storing relations and and sentiment improving and as you said That would be really good news if we did see sort of food prices grain prices wheat corn come down I found that could eventually help lower inflation as well.
Obviously, let's not forget when the price has shot up at the start of the conflict when Russia invaded Ukraine then we did see a jump in in grain prices.
So if we see the reverse that would be really encouraging to the outlook for inflation more broadly.
Too soon for any market reaction to this news, has any just broken?
Yeah, nothing that's really coming through that we've seen massive changes.
I mean, we foreign corner price trading a little bit lower the European markets are trading a little bit higher but that's just an improvement in sentiment that I think that we're seeing coming through.
Fiona stay with me much more to talk about in a while.
Let's talk about electric vehicles next though the market is experiencing significant growth so it should be no surprise that manufacturers like BYD and China say revenues up by almost a third just in the last 12 months.
Elon Musk's company Tesla is the outrider though with its sales in European markets falling by more than 40 % in February compared to a year ago.
Could I talk about this with Peter Barden -Fledhansen who is a former Tesla executive, now chief executive and chairman within the e -mobility sector.
Peter, thank you for being with us live on World Business Report.
What's behind this fall in sales?
Well, Andrew, there's a number of reasons for this falling.
But the obvious elephant in the room is, of course, Elon Musk himself in his flirtation with the right -wing policies, not least in the U .S., but definitely also his mingling into the European politics with his flirtations with the AFD, Nigel Farage, Reform UK, Ireland, Italy and what have you.
The European consumers and buyers are obviously not feeling quite confident that he's actually representing what he said he was in relation to what Tesla was all about.
And we've mentioned before that it's literally the demographic of his customers that he's defending?
You know, it's the people who might be attracted to buy an EV, a Tesla specifically, who are thinking, I'm not sure about all this stuff.
Absolutely. So what you're seeing is that there's a huge discrepancy now between his customer base and where Elon is.
And you could say, well, Elon's just a person, he's a CEO, but the but Tesla and Elon is integrated, it is one.
And that's how he's been perceived.
And that's how the brand is being perceived.
Therefore if the discrepancy is so clear, which it is here in this case, where the customer base has been almost left wing if you're going to put them into a political bracket versus where Elan is going, which is very much to the far right, your own feeling of self -righteousness as a consumer is to say I'm not buying that car anymore and there's plenty more coming from the likes of Europe and not least from China in the form of BYD.
There are other reasons as well.
I mean, there's a – Yeah, I was going to say, I mean, that's leaving it a lot of sight.
The market itself develops all the time.
Could it just not be that other products have overtaken Teslas?
Absolutely. I mean BYD have been right at the back of Elon for quite some time here, but they have now got 30 different cars in their model range, 15 of which are electric versus Tesla's only five which are aging and they're quite limited in what they could do comparatively and not least in relation to the autonomous driving units which is something that Elon has really been promoting for the last decade whereas and now byd and other chinese makes are overtaking him on the on the inside with these abilities and this technology and moreover is free in the pricing as opposed to Elon's I think about nine
thousand dollars that his full driving capabilities cost as an extra and peta from Tesla's point of view what needs to happen to sort this out I would say, if he's really going to do a change here, he needs to step down as a CEO because he needs to differentiate himself and move away from Elon and Tesla being the same unit.
Definitely, as long as he is as politically engaged as he is, this is only going to go one way in relation to hurting the Tesla brand.
Peter, thank you so much for being with us.
That's Peter Barden -Flath -Hansen who's a former Tesla executive.
Fiona Cincotta is still with me from City Index. So give me your take on what's happening with Tesla, Fiona.
Yes, you know, I'm very much in agreement.
I think this is mainly a brand problem that we're seeing.
Given the speed at which this has happened as well, you know, we've seen a really sharp downturn.
That's reflected in the share price at down 30 percent year -to -date.
And that sort of downturn really does coincide side with Elon Musk, sort of interventions in politics.
But I think also adding in to that, that we've also seen improved competition, for example, from BYD's standout performer, really, who's packing their new cars with high -tech innovations, which we're just not really quite seeing from Tesla right now.
Now, let's talk about Shell, one of many companies cutting back on green investments at the moment.
Yes, that's right. So, basically they have announced that they're going to be cutting costs and spending, particularly in clean energy and boosting the amount that they return to shareholders basically in a drive to really close that gap in valuations between the U .S. rivals such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
And cost -cutting is going to be in the region to five to seven billion by 2028, really looking to focus on improving the profitability of their already existing low -carbon projects.
So, yes, cutting spending on new clean projects which is very disappointing I think as far as the outlook for for green energy is concerned.
And the Chairman of Alibaba is suggesting that there might be a bit of a bubble brewing in artificial intelligence.
Yes. And that's something that there's been...
But there's always been a bit of speculation haven't there I think over the past couple of years we've seen this rapid rise in AI stocks but the fact that he's talking about this bubble in AI I think definitely catches the attention and particularly he's talking about sort of the bubble in bets in AI and data center construction he's saying that sort of lots of global tech leaders and investment funds have been really rushing to put in a lot of money into infrastructure projects that support AI storage and energy and basically there are some projects that reason sort of raising funds without even
having any takers for use of the data centers.
So that's really creating this idea that they're sort of building on speculation and they could result in a bubble for the sector.
This is World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
I'm Andrew Pete. This is Jenny Garth from I Do Part II.
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Terms apply. A cryptocurrency company is planning to roll out mini power plants to rural villages in Africa in order to bring electricity to make or mine Bitcoin.
The company has already installed generating mines at six renewable energy plants in different countries.
The project shows the potential benefits of the controversial energy -hungry system that powers Bitcoin.
our cyber correspondent, Joe Tidy, has beaned the remote mine on the Zambezi River.
The roar of the Zambezi River is deafening, but there's another sound on the riverbanks here in northwest Zambia, too, the unmistakable whirring of a Bitcoin mine.
24 hours a day, this container full of powerful computers crunches through complex mathematical problems to earn bitcoins as part of the global volunteer mining network.
It's very noisy, but it's a beautiful noise, because the truth is, this noise means we're making money.
That's Philip Walton, the American Kenyan co -founder of Gridless, the company that runs the mine, containing 120 machines.
It's an odd place for a high -tech crypto operation, but it makes sense, as the electricity is so cheap here as it comes directly from the site's hydroelectric power plant.
Zengarmina Hydro has been supplying energy for the local community for 17 years.
CEO of the site Daniel Ray and his missionary family were involved in the construction.
£3 million was raised, mostly from British churches, but the Bitcoin mine has been a major boost since it was installed in 2023, as it makes use of excess electricity.
We really struggled to make ends meet, and every day we were wasting over 50 % of the energy that we could generate, which also meant we're not earning from that.
What we lacked was an institutional, a major user of power in the area, and the extra revenue important to say has also helped us keep the prices down for what we charge the local people, which is also very important.
A few miles away in the town, Zambians like Haredresser Damián benefit from having stable and cheap electricity.
When I got power, my life changed.
I started earning money and bought all this.
Now I'm earning enough to pay to go to school.
Bitcoin mining didn't build Zenga Meadah Hydro plant but there's no doubt it's been a win, not just for the energy company and the Bitcoin miners, but also for the local town.
However, the plant has received a huge amount of investment and will soon be expanding.
They hope to sell or any excess energy eventually, back to the grid.
So Philip and team have got to hit the road and find a new place as perfect as this.
The mission to get electricity to isolated communities is a monumental task in Africa.
A 2022 estimate from the International Energy Agency suggests 600 million people on the continent are without power.
But because of Bitcoin's reputation, some companies and authorities remain uncomfortable with including it in electrification projects.
Globally the industry is estimated to use as much energy as a small country like Poland.
The environmental impact has long been a concern too.
But according to analysts, there are signs that could be improving, with more of the mining giants moving to sustainable energy mixes.
But set -ups like Zenga Minna have none of these problems. Yes they're a tiny part of the overall mining picture But they're also a rare example of a controversial industry creating much more than just digital coins.
And Joe Tidy, who you heard there, is now with me here in the studio.
Joe, we should say that the sort of project you are featuring in Zambia is exactly the kind of thing that Donald Trump doesn't want to be happening.
Yeah, that's right.
He has said, and he said this on the campaign trail when he tried to appeal to the Bitcoiners out there, that he wants the US to be the crypto capital of the world.
He wants every last remaining Bitcoin to be mined in the US by a US company So yes, these kind of projects in in Africa, they do go against the grain of what he wants But also it has to be said that they are a very niche part of the Bitcoin mining network the Giants are in America and they've got warehouses full of Setups like you like you heard about in Zenga Mina there, which is very small in scale Let's talk about Donald Trump's venture, which is called World Liberty financial short.
What's happening with that today?
Yeah so this is a new company that his son started and he has endorsed just before he was inaugurated and we've been sort of waiting in the crypto world for them to do something because of course they've got lots and lots of financial backing, it's got the biggest name one of the biggest names in the world behind it and today they have finally sort of done something they've released what they're calling what it was called a stablecoin they're they're calling it USD 1 I think it's called and a stable coin is a very specific type of cryptocurrency.
So Bitcoin and most of the other coins out there, there are thousands obviously, they are floating in value, so depending on how people feel about a coin it could be worth X amount and then ten minutes later it could be worth Y amount.
Stable coins are pegged to existing things that the traditional financial world has a value on, so most them are pegged to the US dollar.
They've just announced they're going to release one that is pegged to the US dollar.
And this is a big move for the company which obviously is hoping to cash in on what is an absolutely enormous and lucrative part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
That's our cyber correspondent, Joe Tidy, Fiona Sinkotta from City Index, still with me.
What's your take on this Donald Trump family crypto venture?
Well, it's not the first time that we've seen Donald Trump take his fingers into crypto and crypto related products.
Obviously we had the meme coin when he came into office the day of the inauguration.
But it's not surprising, I mean, across the campaign trail, Donald Trump was very clear in his support for cryptocurrency, for the crypto industry.
And so, I mean, you know, on that side of things, it's definitely bringing legitimacy, I do believe, to an industry which could potentially be very important to the US economy.
And I was going to say, it's very much tied in to crypto, the US economy now.
Today, the ratings agency Moody's paints a pretty bleak picture, though, of the US economy.
Yes, I think it's really interesting because I think the outlook for the US economy has changed so dramatically, just in the short few months that Trump has been in power.
So So we've seen this US exceptionalism which was across last year, has very much changed across this year because of these concerns over what Trump's trade policies could mean for the US economy with potential growth downgrades and inflation, increasing inflation is painting a little bit of a more deteriorating picture, should we say, for the US economy.
There's also deteriorating picture if you look at the various ways of measuring consumer confidence in the US.
Yes, that's right. So, I mean, consumer confidence is a forward -looking indicator that we've been monitoring quite closely.
Just because of when consumer confidence falls, that usually ties in with decreased spending in households.
So, which is very important to the U .S. economy.
So, you know, with we seeing a downturn in consumer confidence, we've also seen a downturn in business confidence, which does point to a weakening economy going forward. Fiona, thank you very much indeed for being with me today.
Fiona Sinkotta, Senior Market Analyst at Citi index. Now, we were talking about Tesla a few minutes ago on the programme and how Tesla's impact in Europe is on the wane.
One way perhaps they could get their cars around Europe is via a new giant tunnel, which is under construction in the south of Denmark.
It will link Denmark to Germany with cars and trains able to travel under the Baltic sea.
It's currently Europe's largest construction site and it will be the world's longest prefabricated road and rail tunnel.
Once it's built it will have cost more than seven and a half billion dollars.
My colleague Adrian Murray.
Let's have a look. It's on a scale that's hard to take in.
The size of 600 football pitches this colossal construction site is where a record breaking tunnel is being built linking Denmark to Germany.
Inside three enormous halls tunnel segments each more than 200 metres long are molded from steel and concrete and shown me around is Henrik Vinsonsen the CEO of tunnel operator FEMEN.
It's not only linking Denmark to Germany, it's linking Scandinavia to Central Europe.
Everybody's a winner because obviously businesses, they will be closer connected and then by not having extra distance to drive you'll also cut in carbon.
Running for 18 kilometers along the Baltic Seabed, the Feman belt will be the world's longest prefabricated road and rail tunnel.
It will slash the rail route between Copenhagen and Hamburg from four and a half to just two and a half hours and replace the 45 -minute ferry journey by a drive of less than 10 minutes.
Filanced mostly by Denmark which plans to recoup the costs with tolls, this seven and a half billion dollar mega project has been in the pipeline for two decades.
It's been delayed by lawsuits rising costs and opposition from environmentalists who say it will harm the area's biodiversity.
Those managing the project say any impact is temporary.
But it's hoped investment will boost the local area and building is now well underway.
Senior construction manager Anna Szgertzella leads the way inside the entrance.
Now, we are in the first part of the tunnel.
Here we have the water, and as you can hear, it's quite thick.
Behind these huge steel doors is sea water, and the next section of tunnel will have to be placed here exactly.
Each segment, weighing 73 ,000 tonnes, will be floated out, then precisely lowered into place.
In all, 90 segments will be linked together, piece by piece like Lego bricks.
To do that is a feat of engineering.
We have to be very very careful that it's placed just in front of the next one.
So we have a system called Pin and Catch. We will have some arms grabbing onto the element, dragging it slowly into place and we can remove the sealed doors behind us.
The bedrock is too soft to drill but a tunnel was deemed more secure than a bridge, says Pere Goldtermann, a professor in concrete and structures at the technical university of Denmark.
If you have a bridge going north -south, the wind is kind of perpendicular.
There was also a risk or, should say, probability of ships crashing into bridges.
You actually have around deep water, 30 meters, which means the biggest ships can sail there.
Soon the crucial next segment will be moved into place And when it opens five years from now, Scandinavia will become a little closer to mainland Europe.
That was Adrian Murray reporting from Denmark on this huge tunnel that's being constructed.
Let me just update you on the story that's been breaking while we've been on the air.
The White House says both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to ensure safe passage for commercial shipping in the Black Sea as we're hearing from Aleksa Grain Farmer in Ukraine.
This is particularly good news for grain farming and grain prices not only for Ukraine but globally.
We're basing all this on what we've heard from the White House.
We're expecting to hear statements about these talks that have been happening in Saudi Arabia from the Kremlin at any time.
Stay with us on the BBC World Service to hear more, or you can stay in touch online at bbc .com slash news from me Andrew Peach and the World Business Report team thanks for listening.
This is Jenny Garth from iDo part 2.
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