Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Markiyan Dmytrasevych told on air of Suspilne Sprotyv TV channel about destinations of the next wheat shipments under the Grain from Ukraine food initiative, and the purpose of a visit to African countries.

“African countries are most in need of food and are also suffering from rising food prices. Worst of all, they suffer from food shortages. First and foremost, we wanted to explain the real cause of their humanitarian crisis and establish strong trade ties with them. For example, Kenya and Nigeria are eagerly awaiting our grain,” said Markiyan Dmytrasevych.

According to the Deputy Minister, all four countries visited by the Ukrainian delegation – Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria – are open to establishing close cooperation with Ukrainian business. He also noted that active negotiations had been underway to organize grain hubs in African ports.

“They are being built to enable larger volumes of grain supplies. This also helps to improve logistics. It is beneficial for Ukraine in terms of increasing its presence in these markets. We are talking about West and East Africa. For the countries there, this is an opportunity to make agricultural products cheaper due to stable supplies,” the Deputy Minister emphasized.

He also added that the Grain from Ukraine food program, implemented by Ukraine jointly with the World Food Program, had been discussed with all the countries. The fourth ship with 30,000 tonnes of wheat has recently been shipped as part of the initiative. The cargo is being sent to Ethiopia. In total, 110,000 tonnes of wheat have already been shipped to needy countries under the program.

“We are now organizing departure of 3 more vessels. We expect that the next bulk carriers with wheat will go to Kenya, Yemen, and Sudan. These shipments will amount to 25-30,000 tonnes,” summarized Markiyan Dmytrasevych.