Morocco Sources Only 1.9% of Its Agri-Food Needs from Russia, Ukraine

Morocco comes in 17th place globally in terms of imports of agri-food from Ukraine and Russia, with less than 1.9% of Morocco’s grains coming from Ukraine and Russia.

Rabat – Morocco comes in 17th place globally in terms of imports of agri-food from Ukraine and Russia, with less than 1.9% of Morocco’s grains coming from Ukraine and Russia.

Topping the list of countries exposed to the war in Ukraine is Turkey with 23% of grain imports coming from Russia and Ukraine, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD).

Russia and Ukraine are important sources of grains, and the ongoing war between the two countries will likely have a direct effect on global food security, especially in poor countries, the report laments.

The two countries’ share of sunflower oil and seed stood at 53%, 27% of wheat, 23% of barley, 16% of Colza seeds, and 14% of corn, the report points out.

The UNCTD sounds the alarm on the status quo of the international supply chain as rising gain, fuel, and fertilizer prices threaten to impact poor countries the most.

The UNCTD’s stance echoes that of a World Bank report warning of the war’s impact on global food security.

The world bank said the Ukraine crisis will have a “compounding” negative effect on food security and social welfare across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

In particular, the report explained, rising oil and grain prices will add a culminating effect to the existing trend of COVID-induced supply chain disruptions, causing food prices to rise even higher.

The effect of the war will extend to multiple subsectors of MENA economies, notably by causing a decrease in the flow of capital into emerging markets as people and investors flee the conflict.

While MENA oil-exporting countries stand to benefit from the west’s strategy to diversify energy partners, nations depending on tourism — like Egypt — will likely feel the heat of the conflict.