by BY JACKTONE LAWI
Wednesday March 22, 2023
First ship with 30 thousand tons of Ukrainian wheat arrived in Kenya as part of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Grain from Ukraine humanitarian program
Image: HANDOUT
The price of rice and wheat flour could come down in the coming weeks following the arrival of 30,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat at the port of Mombasa.
The consignment is part of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's ‘Grain from Ukraine’ (GfU) humanitarian programme.
This is the first of five ships carrying grains expected at the port.
The imports come as a relief to Kenyans faced with high grain prices with inflation edging up in in February for the first time in four months on renewed pressure on food and cooking gas prices.
Food usually has the biggest impact on the overall movement in cost of living because it accounts for nearly a third of the shopping basket for Kenyan families.
The Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office and Chairman of the International Coordination Group for the Prevention of Hunger (ICGPH) Andriy Yermak said that the shipment will ease famine witnessed in various parts of the country.
“Today’s shipment to Kenya cements our ongoing commitment to tackle forced famine across Africa’s most vulnerable nations,” said Yermak
Ukraine has always been one of the main suppliers of wheat to the region, before the Russian invasion. Africa imported more than $1.4 billion in wheat from Ukraine.
UN World Food Programme, estimates that the 30,000 tons of grain delivered from Ukraine initiative will provide bread for about 2 million people for 1.5 months.
Global factors, such as ongoing climate change in Africa, the escalating conflict in Ukraine, inflation around the world and a surge in global food prices has exposed Several countries across Africa, including Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Somalia, to the worst food crisis seen in 40 years.
This shipment was supported by the UN World Food Program (WFP) with financial assistance from the governments of the United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, over 5.4 million people in Kenya will likely experience acute food insecurity in March and June this year. About 970,200 children will likely suffer from acute malnutrition in 2023.
The #GrainFromUkrain (GfU) programme was launched by President Zelenskyy in November 2022, to provide much-needed assistance to nations affected by the ongoing global food crisis.
Since the beginning of its launch, the programme has delivered over 140,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat to Africa’s struggling nations.