VenturesNow

Egypt in search of wheat. How the Russia-Ukraine war may trigger food insecurity

Published

1 year ago

March 3, 2022

Egypt, the world’s top importer of wheat, is looking for new sources after the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted crucial supply from the two major exporting countries.

It is a little over a week since Russian soldiers have invaded Ukraine following the order of their President, Vladimir Putin.
The war is already having a negative effect on countries – especially those that depend on the two countries for food, oil and gold.

Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter and Ukraine is among the top five. Global grain markets are facing turmoil following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, with the two countries accounting for about 30 percent of the world’s wheat supply.

Wheat is fundamental to the Egyptian diet, with about 70 per cent of the population relying on subsidised bread to feed their families.

The Arab world’s most populous country, with more than 100 million people, Egypt is expected to need about 13 million tonnes of wheat this year, said Lamy Hamed, associate professor in the soil and water department at Cairo University’s Faculty of Agriculture.

This was said as the country’s main buying agency, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), issued an international tender for Monday to buy 55,000 to 60,000 tonnes of wheat.

Despite the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian military escalation, the Egyptian ship “Wadi Al-Arab” carrying 60 tons of Ukrainian wheat has left the Yuzhne port of Ukraine and en route to Egypt, said the GASC on Saturday.

The shipment is part of a total of 300,000 tons of wheat scheduled to arrive from February 15 to March 3, 2022, the GASC noted. In a meeting with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Sunday, Minister of Supply Aly Moselhy said that the state’s strategic wheat stock lasts for 4 months and local production season will start in April, with a target of 4 million tons. On Feb. 26, 2022, the GASC announced – on behalf of the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade – a new international tender to import wheat, adding that the shipments are scheduled on April 13-26.

VenturesNow

Congo DR: President Tshisekedi visits China for mining renegotiations

Published

2 days ago

May 27, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi is currently on a visit to China to strengthen his country’s partnership with the Asian giant.

An official of Congo DR, Erik Nyindu Kibambe, while addressing journalists in Beijing, revealed that the trip was meant to be for the renegotiation of mining contracts. Kibambe maintained that talks were going “wonderfully.”

The president had previously promised to renegotiate mining contracts, in particular, the one signed in 2008 with China by his predecessor, Joseph Kabila (2001-2019), for better terms in favour of the country.

The president was received by a cheering audience and a line of honour and jubilant children between meetings with Mr Xi and Premier Li Qiang.

Mr. Li told Mr Tshisekedi that he believed “China-DRC relations will surely achieve greater development and benefit both peoples.”

A statement by the Chinese foreign ministry revealed that the countries were upgrading “the bilateral relationship from a win-win strategic cooperative partnership to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.”

Congo is one of the most natural resource-rich nations, holding massive untapped deposits of minerals including cobalt, copper, diamonds and gold amounting to approximately $24 trillion.

China is a major investor in the country where it leads the lucrative mining sector with firms like Sicomines.

VenturesNow

Kenya, IMF agree terms for $3 billion Extended Credit Facility

Published

5 days ago

May 24, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Kenya has reached an agreement that could unlock more than $3 billion of new financing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The international lender and the country said the agreement could help relieve pressure on government finances in East Africa’s largest economy.

The agreement is the fifth review of Kenya’s External Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility arrangements, an extension of the program and augmentation for access under a 20-month Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

Under the agreement, Kenya will get access to $544 million through the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, which is intended to support climate change adaptation and resilience. A total of $3.5 billion had been committed to funding for Kenya under the three facilities, and its executive board would likely consider the staff-level agreement in July.

The IMF stated that the medium-term outlook for the Kenyan economy remained favourable, although the economy had been strained by a challenging external environment. The IMF maintained that the planned fiscal consolidation was appropriate, while also protecting priority social spending.

“Exchange rate flexibility and proactive monetary policy will remain critical to preserving macroeconomic stability and supporting market confidence against the backdrop of a challenging global economic outlook and continued uncertainty in international financial markets,” IMF said in a statement.

Kenya has insisted that it would not default on its debt repayment obligations despite delayed payment of civil service salaries.

The country in April revealed plans to issue a new Eurobond to manage 2024’s maturity of a Ksh270 billion ($2 billion) 10-year bond.