Aliko Dangote has dropped a clear message to Nigerians and Africans, reminding them of an impending food crisis within the next two to three months as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war: “There will be a shortage of wheat, maize and a lot of products because as we speak, Russia and Ukraine do almost 30 percent of the world’s urea and 26 per cent of the world’s potash; and even phosphate also, they are one of the largest (producers) in the world.
“There would be a scarcity of food generally, we would not be able to access fertilizers going forward, we would not see the effects now, but in the next two, three months. Even the US will not be able to do the same number of tonnage they did last year because of this.
“Right now, you start seeing people exporting maize to earn foreign exchange, which I think we need to stop, so that we don’t create shortage; and we need to make sure we grow more so we don’t have a shortage. It is about food security, and it is very, very serious.”
And CEO of Flour Mills of Nigeria, Boye Olusanya, corroborated: “Today, the prices of wheat have gone up. There is a lag that comes because of inventory control, but it is something that we need to sit down with the government to say – what measures can we put in place to alleviate what is coming.
“The impact is not just on wheat alone; Ukraine is one of the largest producers of maize, which will also have a significant impact on maize because it is an alternative to wheat.”
He also spoke about what he described as “cross-border trafficking of maize”, saying more farmers will like to take advantage of the crisis.
“When you look at all that and what then happens in pricing, obviously, if we don’t manage this well, there will be significant volume compression, in terms of material that comes in and therefore the volume of food that is sold,” Mr Olusanya added.
Meanwhile, no African country was included in Russia’s export ban list: Of course, even if you want to buy from Russia, avoiding US sanctions will be wise.
“The government has approved a list of imported goods and equipment that are temporarily prohibited from being exported from Russia. The decision will be effective until the end of 2022. It has been adopted as a follow-up to the presidential executive order on the application of special economic measures in foreign economic activity to ensure the security of the Russian Federation.
“The list includes over 200 products, such as technological, telecommunication and medical equipment, vehicles, agricultural machinery, electric equipment, as well as railway cars and locomotives, containers, turbines, metal and stone cutting machines, video displays, projectors, consoles, and switchboards. This measure is necessary to maintain stability on the Russian Market”.
