How Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens wheat supplies in North Africa

Russia and Ukraine both supply vast amounts of grain to countries across the Middle East and North Africa. Countries like Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya produce less than half the amount of grains - especially wheat - that their populations consume every year, and Ukraine is by far their greatest supplier.

Earlier this month, Amr Emam looked at the likely impact of a war in Ukraine on grain supplies in the region:

By far the world's largest importer of wheat, Egypt expects to be severely affected by possible disruptions to wheat supplies from Russia and Ukraine.

The vast Arab country - population 102 million and rising - imported 12.5m tonnes of wheat in 2020-21.

Egypt is working hard to increase its own wheat output, but its current dependence on imports would make any Ukrainian conflict very bad news, specialists said.

"Egypt will be deeply affected in case the war erupts between Russia and Ukraine," Hesham Abuldahab, a member of the grains section at the Cairo chamber of commerce, told Middle East Eye. "Most of our wheat imports come from these two countries."

How Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens wheat supplies in North Africa