27 March 2024 – Copper, zinc, steel and aluminium are among the base metals that are particularly in demand in the defence industry. With a capacity expansion by a major German ammunition manufacturer, demand is likely to increase even further. Farmer protests escalate despite a monarch in Brussels who has already caved in.
Ammunition production drives demand for raw materials
Shares in the German defence group Rheinmetall have been on a steady upward trend since Russia’s attack on Ukraine in early 2022. The share price has increased almost sixfold since then. The Group currently produces more than 700,000 rounds of artillery ammunition per year and intends to expand its capacity to 1.1 million rounds by 2027 with support from the government.
Base metals in demand for artillery ammunition
Artillery cartridges, which are mostly made of brass, a copper-zinc alloy, are currently difficult to obtain worldwide, even though production is being ramped up. This is because many arsenals are empty or jealously guarded due to the heavy use of artillery in the war. Brass, and therefore also copper and zinc, are therefore likely to remain in high demand from the military side for some time to come, alongside steel and aluminium.
The Brussels monarch caves in to farmers’ protests
Europe’s farmers benefit from enormous subsidies: Almost one in three euros from the EU’s multi-year budget goes to agriculture. Recently, there have been repeated farmer protests across Europe, some lasting weeks, triggered by planned or proposed cuts to direct payments and new bureaucratic requirements.
Protests escalate again, despite the EU caving in
“Are only rabble-rousing threats and violence capable of dissuading the monarch in Brussels from her regulatory madness?“
These protests, which have left many observers shaking their heads at the sheer amount of money that is pumped into agriculture every year, have now escalated even further. In Brussels yesterday, there were road blockades, burning hay bales and vandalism on the part of protesting farmers. And this despite an EU that has already caved in to the farmers.
Brussels in a regulatory frenzy
Even if we do not agree with the excessive subsidisation madness of the European Union, regardless of the economic sector, we certainly welcome the reduction of unnecessary and excessive bureaucracy. Are only rabble-rousing threats and violence capable of dissuading the monarch in Brussels from her regulatory madness?
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