Most of Grain Exported Under ‘Grain Deal’ Does Not Reach Africa

The majority of grain exported under the "grain deal" never made it to Africa, according to Patrick Youssef, regional director for Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told Sputnik.

“According to the observations of the ICRC, most of the grain exported from Ukrainian ports under the 'grain deal' has not yet reached Africa. We welcomed with open arms the announcement of deliveries to Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia and especially Ethiopia, but this does not solve the food crisis,” he stated.

The regional director also noted that grain deliveries are a temporary solution for Africa.

"For example, in Somalia, even having all the available grain will not alleviate the situation. This would only be a short-term remedy, but this situation goes far beyond a mere temporary arrangement to discover a solution. That is why we are concerned about the coming year, when rainfall in Somalia will be substantially lower than the norm, which is already low," he pointed out.

Youssef believes that the best strategy would be to bring investors to the continent to establish an agricultural production system that would assist Africa to achieve food independence.

He also said it was shallow for people to claim that the conflict in Ukraine was the root cause of the global food crisis.

“It is very superficial to claim that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused a global food crisis. We are far from that… It is clear that two years of pandemic, as well as the consequences of the various crises that Africa has been subjected to, induced the food crisis that resulted in several years of suffering and instability, especially in the field of agriculture, because this is where the big problem starts. Of course, the weather also exacerbated the crisis," Yousef stated.

The ongoing wars in Africa have served to exacerbate an already bad situation, he concluded.

The grain deal, signed on 22 July by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the UN, involves transporting grain and fertilizer from three Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea basin.

On 29 October, Russia suspended its participation in the deal because of the Ukraine's attack on a Russian ship in Sevastopol. On 9 November, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Moscow was continuing its participation in the agreement after getting written guarantees from Ukraine that it would not use the grain corridor for military objectives.

The deal was set to expire on 18 November, but it was automatically renewed for 120 days as no party objected. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the Russia also approved a technical extension of the shipment of Ukrainian grain with no changes in terms and scope.

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However, the Russian side has repeatedly expressed discontent that the deal's commitments are not being implemented. In particular, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has stated that almost all the grain exported from Ukraine has been sent to EU countries rather than the world's neediest nations, despite the fact that the deal was initially signed "under the guise of protecting the interests of the poorest countries to prevent famine".

Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Vershinin has also pointed out that the main grain supplies don't reach the poorest nations, and, therefore, the deal needs to be revised.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan, for her part, noted that two-thirds of the grain under the grain deal ended up in rich countries.

Red Cross: Most Grain Exported Under ‘Grain Deal’ Does Not Reach Africa