Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Africa Faces High Risk of Food Insecurity – ECA

The United Nations Economic Commission of Africa (UNECA) has revealed that the war between Russia and Ukraine will have a major impact on food insecurity in Africa, as the two countries provide 30 percent of the world’s wheat and barley needs.

During the 54th session of the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, the Director, Sub-Regional Office for Southern (SRO-SA) Planning and Economic Development, Eunice G. Kamwendo disclosed that the continent faces a high risk of food insecurity because Russia and Ukraine are major global suppliers of agricultural commodities such as maize, wheat, oils and fertilizers to Africa.

“The two countries, combined, provide 30 percent of the world’s wheat and barley needs; supply nearly one-fifth of maize globally, and account for over half of the global market share in sunflower oil, among other commodities.

“According to estimates by the African Development Bank, the region’s GDP contracted by as much as 6.3 percent in 2020, compared to a 2.1 percent recession for the rest of Africa”, she said.

She further stated that African countries are most affected by the pandemic and the combined impact of the COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis are likely to further aggravate liquidity issues constraining recovery. She added that as a region, Southern Africa contracted the most out of all the sub-regions in Africa due to Covid-19.

With the disruption of supplies arising from the war in Ukraine, Africa is facing a shortage of at least 30 million metric tonnes of food, especially wheat, maize, and soybeans imported from  Ukraine and Russia.

Before the war in Ukraine, countries in East, West, Middle, and Southern Africa, including Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, and Nigeria, were already grappling with soaring food prices due to extreme climate and weather events, such as floods, landslides, and droughts, and the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted production efforts and global supply chains.

Since Russia’s invasion, global food prices have reached another level. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index, global prices of food increased by  12.6 percent from February to March.

Investors King recalls that Human Rights Watch (HRW), in its April publication, had earlier said that many countries in East, West, Middle, and Southern Africa rely on Russia and Ukraine for a significant percentage of their wheat, fertilizer, or vegetable oils imports. However, the war disrupted global commodity markets and trade flows to Africa, increasing already high food prices in these regions.

“Even countries that import little from the two countries are indirectly impacted by higher world prices for key commodities,” HRW noted.

In addition, senior researcher on poverty and inequality at HRW, Lena Simet said: “Many countries in Africa were already in a food crisis. Rising prices are compounding the plight of millions of people thrown into poverty by the Covid-19 pandemic, requiring urgent action by governments and the international community.”

According to the March Food Prices Watch released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the average price of one bottle of Groundnut oil stood at N994.62 in March 2022, an increase of 46.00 percent from N681.23 in March 2021.

Also, the prepackaged wheat flour (golden penny 2kg) increased year on year (YoY) from N766.11 to N1,021.66 (35.99 percent increase) and from N1,021.66 to N1,041.82 on Month on Month (MoM) basis, a 1.97 percent increase. Imported high-quality rice (loose) sold at N544.21 in March 2021 and at N607.68 in March 2022 (YoY), an increase of 11.66 percent. It increased by 2.16% from N594.80 in February 2022  to N607.68 in March 20222.

Under the global and African human rights laws everyone has the right to sufficient and adequate food. To protect this right, governments are obligated to enact policies and initiate programmes to ensure that everyone can afford safe and nutritious food.

In view of this, Ghanaian investment banker and Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Ken Ofori-Atta has called for the nation’s partnership with the African Development Bank for the development of the continent.