What is the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on Africa’s trade and economy?
Despite the geographical distance, many African countries are beginning to feel the impact of supply chain disruptions, scarcity of certain agricultural products, and an increase in demand causing inflation in the price of food resulting from the Russian-Ukraine crisis. Essentially, this is happening because Russia and Ukraine are key players in the global commodities market and there is significant trade of agricultural products between Africa, Russia, and Ukraine. The majority of the wheat supplies in Africa come from Russia, in fact, African countries such as Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, Tanzania, Algeria, Kenya, and South Africa imported agricultural products worth $4 billion from Russia in 2020.
Similarly, the sanctions placed on Russia due to the crisis, have pushed the price of oil to over $100 per barrel, the highest level in eight years. Though this should have opened an opportunity for African oil producers like Nigeria, Angola, Libya, and Algeria to increase revenue from crude oil exports, a lack of refineries in Africa means these countries have to pay more for imported fuels.
In our opinion piece on BusinessDay, we X-rayed the economic implications of the war in Ukraine from an African perspective, and the opportunities it presents for African trade businesses. Read more by tapping the link below.
