NIGERIA AND SUDAN- According to the Ukrainian national news agency, Ukraine is set to send 57,000 tonnes of grain to Sudan and Nigeria as part of the ‘Grain from Ukraine’ humanitarian food program.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Markiyan Dmytrasevych, Deputy Minister of the Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry, and Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP).
Sudan is expected to receive 32,000 tonnes of the grain, while Nigeria will be shipped 25,000 tonnes, as reported by the news agency. Additionally, both parties are actively considering extending humanitarian grain shipments from Ukraine to Somalia.
The ‘Grain from Ukraine’ program, proposed by President Vladimir Zelensky during the 2022 G20 Bali meeting, is a strategic initiative to promote humanitarian shipments to countries facing food shortages while supporting Ukrainian grain farmers.
The program was officially launched in November 2022 during the food security summit held in Kyiv.
Africa has been significantly impacted by reduced grain shipments from Ukraine, primarily due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resultant disruption in grain exports. This situation and depleting stockpiles have caused grain prices to surge. Ukraine and Russia, critical suppliers to African nations, have experienced impediments in their food shipments due to the ongoing conflict.
In a related humanitarian endeavor to alleviate the crisis, President Vladimir Putin assured several African leaders in July that he would provide tens of thousands of tonnes of grain to help address food shortages.
However, the African Union has stressed that a ceasefire in Ukraine is crucial to restoring grain supplies and normalizing the situation. Leaders from the African continent have made visits to Ukraine and Russia, urging an end to the ongoing conflict.
The ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative underlines Ukraine’s commitment to assisting countries facing food security challenges and supporting its grain industry, even amid challenging geopolitical circumstances.
According to the Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry, in the marketing year 2023/2024, between July 1, 2023, and October 20, 2023, Ukraine already exported 8.02 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops.
In particular, this marketing year Ukraine has already exported 4.069 million tonnes of wheat, 656 thousand tonnes of barley, 0.8 thousand tonnes of rye, and 3.175 million tonnes of corn.
