Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, says Nigeria and other African countries might face worsening food crisis as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The war has already affected the prices of staple foods, particularly, bread, in the country. This is because Russia and Ukraine are among the top five global suppliers of wheat, barley and maize.
Yermak, in an interview with Legit, said the war is directly affecting most African nations, while asserting that the rise in food and energy prices will continue to translate to higher prices for all goods.
His wprds “The rise in food and energy prices translates to higher prices for all goods. This aspect directly touches the interests of the majority of the inhabitants of the African continent. You are well aware that a critical rise in prices is very likely to be followed by political instability, unrest, and even war.”
While citing instances of how the shortage of wheat supply has caused a sharp increase in the prices of bread in Nigeria and other African countries, he declared that the war would affect the Nigerian economy and Africa, even as the effect has already begun.
While also talking about instances of how the shortage of wheat supply has caused a sharp increase in the prices of bread in Nigeria and other African countries, the presidential aide said, “Today, more than 90 million tons of grain are amassed in our storage facilities.
He added that until recently, Ukraine was exporting over 50m tons of grain annually to different regions of the world as over a quarter of this volume went to African countries.
He continued … “For example, Egypt heavily depends on food supplies from Ukraine and is the second buyer of Ukrainian grain after China. Ukraine, traditionally, has also been making large food deliveries to other countries of Africa, from Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco to Tanzania. Some of those grain deliveries from Ukraine have also been accepted by Cameroon, Uganda, Sudan, and a number of other countries. Even Nigeria, which in 2020 became the fourth largest wheat importer in the world, received part of this volume from Ukraine.”
