Traders in various food products at Kongowea market in Mombasa County, Kenya. PHOTO | NMG
Protectionist decisions in India and Eastern Europe to lock stocks of food within their borders are likely to disrupt the supply of rice and wheat into Kenya, even as poor weather hinders the supply of onions from neighbouring Tanzania.
Wheat prices are also likely to come under pressure after Russia, which is at war with Ukraine, recently pulled out of an agreement which allowed the export of Ukrainian agricultural goods via a safe channel through the Black Sea, putting Africa’s food security at risk.
Russia also destroyed critical storage infrastructure in Ukraine in a bomb attack, triggering supply disruption fears, which is driving up prices.
The latest supply shocks are aggravating the prevailing food crisis related to the Ukrainian war and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which have increased the prices of cooking oil, maize and wheat products.
Source: The East African
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