Kenya has received the first shipment of wheat from Ukraine since Russia launched a military invasion against the country in February.
The vessel ‘Super Henry’ docked at the Port of Mombasa on Sunday carrying 51,400 tons of wheat. Ukraine Ambassador Andrii Pravednyk on Monday supervised the offloading of the grain.
He said Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain suppliers, with a share in global trade around 10 per cent.
“The war against Ukraine has affected about 25 per cent of the world cereal trade, caused an increase in world prices, food inflation, and reduced access to food in the countries that import food from Ukraine, in particular wheat and sunflower oil,” Andrii Pravednyk.
He further added that two more vessels had left the Ukrainian port, one carrying 53,800 metric tons and the other carrying 23,000 metric tons of the grain.
“This brings the total amount of the commodity that the country is sending to Kenya to 128,200 metric tons, which is still not enough. We will continue working together with Kenyan authorities and commercial companies to bring more to Kenya,” Andrii Pravednyk.
According to Ukrainian statistics, in 2021, Ukraine exported to Kenya a record 355.5 thousand metric tons of the grain worth $89.7 million.
Last year, Kenya imported approximately 2.4 million tons of wheat, making Ukraine’s share of the commodity in the Kenyan market comprise around 15 per cent of the overall Kenyan wheat import balance.
Read also; Wheat Prices Rise to Record High after India’s Export Ban.
