Compiled by: Sahar Yaghoubi
There are several nations in Africa that depend on the shipment of food from Russia and Ukraine because of crop failure caused by bad weather and internal strife.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the Black Sea grain agreement mediated by Turkey would give preference to developing nations in Africa like Somalia.
“Djibouti, Somalia, and Sudan are in very precarious positions. We will send packages to developing nations if there is trouble there “In an interview with local media last week, Erdogan made the following statement.
At least a few of these nations are among the 16 in Africa that get the vast bulk of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine, as reported by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
It is estimated that between 50 and 70 percent of the wheat imported by Djibouti, Burundi, Mauritania, Togo, Cameroon, Senegal, Rwanda, the Congo, Libya, Tanzania, and Namibia comes from the warring parties.
Meanwhile, Somalia imports over 90% of its wheat needs, Egypt over 70%, and Madagascar over 80%.
And Eritrea, which imports all of its grain from Ukraine and Russia, is the most reliant African nation on the grain arrangement.
In places like Somalia, where an estimated 4.1 million people are in need of food aid owing to droughts, instability, violence, and the Covid-19 outbreak, a lack of grain imports may worsen already tense situations.
Since 3 August 2022, Somalia has received around 28.5 kilotons of commodities via the Black Sea Grain program, according to figures compiled by the United Nations.
Shipments of grain worth over $10 million
At a meeting in Istanbul on July 22, representatives from Turkey, the United Nations, Russia, and Ukraine reached an agreement to begin grain exports over the Black Sea. This will enable the shipment of wheat and maize to nations in need.
United Nations figures show that more than 10 million metric tons of goods have been exported so far via the Black Sea Grain program. The most common agricultural products transported are corn (4.3 MMT) and wheat (2.9 MMT).
After the conflict broke out in February, exports were temporarily halted after Russia said it would stop taking part in the grain agreement in response to what it called “unjustified” attacks on its Black Sea fleet by Ukraine.
International leaders hoping to broaden the pact were relieved last month when Turkey and Russia confirmed Moscow’s return to the grain deal after a few days of doubt.
After a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Kazakh capital Astana last month, Erdogan said that Ankara was committed to transporting Russian fertiliser to poor countries, in addition to improving the grain agreement.
“Perhaps we might put in some effort into settling on proper country titles. We need to prioritize developing nations above those who have already achieved success “As Erdogan put it.
Many African nations rely on Russia for their wheat imports, and the same is true for their fertiliser requirements; for example, Ghana buys over half of its fertilisers from Moscow.
