Africa’s quarterly economic performance and outlook October-December 2023: rising food insecurity amid the termination of the Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports

Abstract

The Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports (Black Sea Initiative), one of the few diplomatic achievements since the war in Ukraine started, was an agreement between the Russian Federation, Türkiye and Ukraine, brokered by the United Nations, in order to ensure that Ukraine, one of the breadbaskets of the world, could export its grain to the rest of the globe through three ports. The shipments included exports of grain – in particular, maize and wheat – and other foodstuffs. Africa received 12.2 per cent of the total exports. Thanks to the Initiative, the World Food Programme (WFP) was able to transport some 343,000 tons of grain as food aid to East African countries (United Nations, 2023a). The termination of the Initiative has entailed higher global grain prices, reduced humanitarian assistance and constraints on the supply chains of major grain commodities from the Russian Federation and Ukraine.