Thanks to Grain from Ukraine, Ukraine can get closer to pre-war wheat exports to countries in need

UkrAgroConsult

Despite the war, thanks to the Grain from Ukraine food initiative, Ukraine may be able to get closer to pre-war wheat exports to needy countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Yemen. As part of the initiative, a humanitarian ship with 30 thousand tons of wheat has recently departed from a Ukrainian port for Yemen, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy reports.

For the first 9 months of the marketing year, Ukraine has already shipped 293.3 thsd tonnes of wheat to Ethiopia, which covers 20% of the country’s import needs for this crop. The annual demand is 1.5 million tons (USDA data). Prior to the war, Ukrainian agricultural products shipped to this country accounted for 35% of their purchases.

Ukraine was able to cover Kenya’s import needs by 13% (283 thousand tons) during the season. This figure is close to the pre-war level: back then, our country supplied Kenya with 16% of its needs. Every year, they need to import 2.2 million tons of wheat to feed themselves.

Unfortunately, due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, Yemen’s import needs have been covered to the least extent so far: only 216.1 thousand tons out of the 3.8 million tons needed, which is only 6%. Last season, Ukraine shipped 700 thousand tons, covering Yemen’s needs by 20%. However, thanks to the international partners who join the Grain from Ukraine program, Ukraine still has a chance to get closer to pre-war levels and prevent famine in this needy country.

According to the World Bank, the populations of Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen have grown rapidly over the past two decades. Ethiopia’s population has almost doubled and now stands at over 120 million. Kenya’s population growth over the same period is 20 million, and Yemen’s is 14 million. Despite the war and a much smaller population, Ukraine covers a significant amount of the food needs of these countries.

In total, almost 1 million tons of wheat have been shipped to needy countries (Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, etc.) during the operation of the grain corridor. Over the same period, more than 3 million tons of Ukrainian agricultural products went to Africa. Within the framework of the UN food humanitarian programs and Grain from Ukraine, 525.8 thousand tons of grain were shipped to countries in need of Ukrainian agricultural products.

Tags: Somalia, Grain from Ukraine, Ukraine, export, grain, Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Kenya