Russian war in Ukraine hampers Nigeria’s food imports
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Decades of Nigeria’s historical neglect of agriculture are telling on food prices, especially imported staples, with wheat getting scarce and the price surging because Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine hampers wheat exports from Russia.
The price of wheat – the main ingredient for bread, cereals, biscuits, pastries, pasta, and several other foods – had been rising through the weeks of Russian military buildup in Ukraine long before the full invasion on 24 February.
Bread and other by-products of wheat have shot up in price by more than 100 per cent, and keep on rising. An 800 gram of a loaf of bread that cost N300 two years ago now sells for between N500 and N600.
The price hike is stoked by investors’ concern about disruption in wheat supply, Russia being a top exporter, accounting for 24 per cent of the global wheat market.
Sanctions against Russia
Sanctions from Western nations have put a strain on Russia’s financial system and its ability to export goods. The world’s biggest container ship operators, A.P. Moeller-Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping, have suspended services in Russia.
Nigeria’s dependence on Russian durum wheat puts it at risk of food shortages and food inflation.
Goods imports from Russia in the nine months to September 2021 (9M 2021) amounted to N813.19 billion ($2 billion) or 3.7 per cent of Nigeria’s total imports in the period, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data.
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Impact on Nigeria
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) figures show that wheat is the third most widely consumed grain in the country, per reporting by Nairametrics.
Nigeria imported durum wheat worth over N128.1 billion in 9M 2021 and N144.14 billion in 9M 2020.
And different types of frozen seafoods are imported from Russia yearly, which include mackerel, meat, herrings, blue whitings, and other fish.
Nigeria consumes between five and six million metric tonnes of wheat products yearly but only 1 per cent is produced locally. The balance 99 per cent is imported.
The demand-supply gap necessitates spending over $2 billion on wheat importation yearly, the second highest food import bill.
Flour Mills, Honeywell Flourmills, Nigeria Breweries, and Guinness are some of the companies in Nigeria that rely heavily on wheat as an input in their production.
