Ship carrying wheat from Ukraine docks in Djibouti

A ship carrying wheat from Ukraine to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa docked on Tuesday, the UN said, the first to make that journey since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began six months ago.

The ship, named the Brave Commander, is carrying 23,000 tonnes of grain and will shortly be followed by another carrying 7,000 tonnes.

The total shipment, which will be unloaded in Djibouti and transported to Ethiopia, is enough to feed 1.5-million people for a month.

That is insignificant compared with the problems in East Africa, where the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) says extreme weather, surging food prices and conflict mean 82-million people need food aid across nine countries: Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

“This shipment, the first of many we hope, will allow WFP to deliver this grain to 1.53-million people in Ethiopia and cover their needs for a month. It’s a start but we must continue to keep the food flowing to save lives across the region,” said Michael Dunford, WFP’s regional director for East Africa.

Officials hope the successful voyage will inspire private companies to begin shipping grain from Ukraine to East Africa, where rising global food prices and difficulties raising donor funding have forced the UN to cut rations for refugees and displaced people.

While the shipment will help people displaced by conflict, none of it will be sold commercially, meaning it will not lower food prices for ordinary Ethiopians.

Russia and Ukraine usually supply 90% of wheat imported in East Africa.

The Ukraine conflict sent fertiliser and food prices soaring as Russia blockaded Ukrainian ports. Energy prices have also surged following Western sanctions on Russia, a major energy exporter.

In July, the UN and Turkey brokered a deal between Moscow and Kyiv to unblock three Black Sea ports, making it possible to send hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Ukrainian grain to buyers.

Reuters