By Lateef Adegbite
Fear of global food crisis necessitated by the Russian and Ukrainian war may have informed why Ngozi Okonkonjo-Iweala, Nigerian former minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy, during Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration and now Director General, of Geneva, Switzerland based, World Trade Organisation, WTO, hosted the global ministers of Trade ministers of the member nations for a –day meeting.
The 12, ministerial conferemce was said to have stated on Sunday, June 13, 2022, after the Asian country of China, coronavirus, popular, Pandemic to tackle the global food security challenge.
The WTO, Director General, meeting was said to have attracted 120 Trade ministers of the164 member nations including Niyi Adebayo, Nigeria minister of Trae and Industry, It was not surprising that top of the agenda of the World Trade Ministers at the four –day closed door meeting is the toll of the Russian-Ukrainian war,’’ traditionally a breadbasket of the world’’, exporting 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce per month and 12% of the entire world wheat produce before the food security walkout.
The WTO, record shows that Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly one-third of global wheat supplies. The world trade body noted that Ukraine is also a major exporter of corn, barley, sunflower oil and rapeseed, while Russia and Belarus, which had backed Russia in the war against Ukraine, while Russia alone, account for more than 40% of global export of potash, a crop nutrient.
Over the last three months, officials of the WTO, have been under pressure, ‘’to eke out long – term trade deals on a range of issues and show unity amid an impending food crisis’’. The officials of the WTO, were said to have also been asked to compel Russia which had blockaded the Black sea to create corridors so that Ukrainian grains and other vital food supplies can safely leave the East European country by Land and sea, to the importing nations across the world.
Reuters had reported that Ukraine has established two export through Poland and Romania to export grain to its trading partners to avert a global food crisis. Dmytro Senikd, Deputy Ukrainian Foreign minister had warned that global’’ food security is at risk because of Russian ‘s invasion of the country which had halted Kyiv’s Black sea grain exports, causing widespread shortages and soaring prices of grain’’. He is right. Bread prices in Nigeria, have increased in the last two months due to global wheat value chain disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Financial analysts had stated that wheat, which is mostly grown in the Ukraine-Russia region is a key input in food value chains which African countries rely on for bread, spaghetti, noddles, biscuits and flour based products. Wale Okurinboye, an Economic and Financial Analysts had said that that large supplies of wheat from the two East European countries have been dislocated in the African countries that are very intensive with wheat. From East Africa, North Africa to Francophone speaking countries in the West African sub-region.
Information making the rounds shows that since the Russia and Ukraine war broke out, and now, there are estimated 22 million tonnes of grain sitting in silos in Ukraine alone but the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign minister had said that that here are some 30 million tonnes of grain stored in Ukranian territory which it is trying to export by road, river and rail to the importing nations.
He disclosed that the Ukrainian government was in talks with the three Baltic countries: Estonia, Lativia and Lithunia, all member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, which also have the 30 member- countries of the European Union, EU, the the American country of the United States, US, Canada, and United Kingdom, UK, as members, to add a third corridor for the country food exports. At present more than 20 million tonnes of grain are stocked in the country’s ports, with half of it meant for the United Nations World Food Programme.
The ministers at the meeting were said to have considered to lift or ease the export restrictions on food place on food to help countries facing a shortage of wheat, fertilizer and other products because of the war in Ukraine. They were said to have also taken a decision whether to increase support for the UN world food programme to help needy countries around the world.
There is no gainsaying the fact that 36 member nations, of the WTO, including Nigeria, the most populous country in the African Continent mostly depend on Russia and Ukraine for more than half of their wheat imports. Only recently, a cargo ship, Alpila, carrying 18,000 tonnes of Ukrainian Corn was said to have arrived early on Monday, June 13, in Spain’s north western port of A Coruna , using a new maritime route due to be unloaded by Today, (Tuesday), June 14, 2022.
The animal feed producers group, called Agafac, revealed that’’ it is the first shipment of Ukrainian grain to north western Spain by sea, using a new maritime route, in the Baltic sea to avoid Russia’s navy blockade of Ukraine’s seaports on the Black sea since the start of the war on February, 24, 2022.
Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, minister of Agriculture and Rural development had said that the Russia-Ukraine war is an issue of concern to Nigeria’s wheat and corn importation firms. It is instructive o note that Nigerian firms in the food industry are also importing wheat from the US, Canada and the two Baltic countries of Lithunia and Lativia.
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, reports that the Nigeria firms in the food sector had spent N898. 2 billion to import wheat between January and September 2021, The major exporters of the grain to the Nigerian market were US, N194.2 billion, Canada, N136.4 billion, Russia, N124 billion, Lithunia, N122.3 billion and Lativia, about N120billion.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the close watch of Godwin Emefiele, , was said to have given emergency approval to four companies, as reported by the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, to import 262, 000 tons of Corn into the Nigerian market due to the scarcity, which was said to have crippled the nation’s poultry sector, after the apex bank had banned the processing of ‘’Forms M’’ for maize/corn importation into the country in July 2020.
The Nigerian government may not have reverted to option B, to ease the suffering of firms in the nation’s food Industry, due to the Russia- Ukraine war as President Muhammadu Buhari, had asked Abubakar, the minister of Agriculture and Rural development, and Director Generals of National Agricultural and Land Development Agency, NALDA including NCFI, and Emefiele, the CBN, governor ’’to sit and identify the countries that can produce wheat and other grains that Nigerian firms in the food sector needed for their produce’’.
While the Nigerian government is moving earnestly to find a lasting solution to the anticipated global food crisis, the World Trade ministers were said to have agreed on the first day of their closed door meeting in Geneva on at least one or two of a long line of pressing issues, which the former Nigerian minister of Finance had said ‘’would be a success’’.
She is optimistic that if the issues are fully implemented by the all the member countries of the WTO, as agreed, the world should ‘’expect a rocky and bumpy road to trade’’, noting that ‘’there may be a few landmines’’.
Going by the direction of the World Trade ministers discussions at the all –important meeting of the WTO, it is expected that they would agree on a joint declaration on strengthening food security, which they will ‘’commit to take concrete steps to facilitate trade and improve the functioning and long term resilience of global markets for food and agriculture’’.
Gottabaya Rapaksa, the President of the crisis hit Siri Lanka, has asked civil servants to take an extra day off each week to grow crops in their backyards in a bid to forestall a looming food shortage in the country. The Island nation’s unprecedented economic downturn was said to have left several staple foods in short supply as rampant inflation is ravaging household budgets.
A minister in the Rapaksa government had said on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, that ‘’it seems appropriate to rant civil servants a leave for one working day of the week and provide them with the necessary facilities to engage in agricultural activities in their backyards’’. The Siri Lankan minister who could not hide his feelings opined that that the extra one day off from the office would go a long way in assuaging the food shortage that is ‘’expected to occur in the country in the future’’.
Indeed, given what is happening in the third world countries and the developing economies because of the Russian – Ukrainian war, the Trade ministers of the developed economies were said to have been urged ‘’to vow that ‘’particular consideration will be given to specific seeds to be grown based on the circumstances of these poor member countries of the WTO.
