• The vessel, ‘Super Henry’ docked at the Port of Mombasa on Sunday carrying 51,400 tons of Ukrainian wheat.
• Pravednyk said that two more vessels had already left the Ukrainian port, one carrying 53,800 metric tons with the other one carrying 23,000 thousand metric tons of wheat.
Image: LABAN WALLOGA
Kenya on Monday received the first shipment of Ukrainian wheat since Russia launched a military invasion against Ukraine in February.
The vessel ‘Super Henry’ docked at the Port of Mombasa on Sunday carrying 51,400 tonnes of wheat.
Ukraine Ambassador Andrii Pravednyk on Monday supervised the offloading of the wheat.
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,” Pravednyk said.
He said two more vessels had left the Ukrainian port, one carrying 53,800 metric tonnes and the other carrying 23,000 metric tonnes of wheat.
“This brings the total amount of wheat that Ukraine is sending to Kenya to 128,200 metric tonnes, which is still not enough. We will continue working together with Kenyan authorities and commercial companies to bring more wheat to Kenya,” Pravednyk said.
According to Ukrainian statistics, in 2021 Ukraine exported to Kenya a record 355.5 thousand metric tonnes of wheat worth $89.7 million.
Last year, Kenya imported approximately 2.4 million tonnes of wheat, making Ukraine's share of wheat in the Kenyan market comprise around 15 per cent of the overall Kenyan wheat import balance.
As per the UN World Food Programme Report of August 2022, 4.1 million Kenyans are acutely food insecure, which requires immediate and resolute action.
“We are confident that the arrival of 'Super Henry' to the Port of Mombasa with 51,400 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat on board will bring significant relief to Kenyan consumers, helping to mitigate the prices and remove the deficit,” Pravednyk said.
The ambassador said missile strikes and shelling by Russian troops had damaged and destroyed dozens of farms, stocks of food and seeds, silos, warehouses, oil depots, agricultural machinery and equipment.
He said at least 90 agribusinesses have been damaged in Ukraine, while about 13 per cent of Ukrainian territory had been contaminated by Russian mines and explosive remnants of war.
“The Russian occupiers have already damaged or completely destroyed approximately four million tonnes of our grain storage capacity. They have seized up to one million tonnes of grain crops and sunflower oil at the estimated cost of $600 million,” he said.
Pravednyk said the total damage to the Ukrainian agricultural sector is estimated at $4.29 billion as market experts forecast the production of grain in Ukraine in 2022 at the level of 65 million tonnes.
This represents about 40 per cent less than what the country produced in 2021.
“Even under Russian attacks, Ukraine and Ukrainian farmers are resolved to fulfill their obligations in supplying grain and other agricultural products to those who need it the most. The crucial precondition is keeping our seaports unblocked and sea passages free to navigate,” the ambassador said.
Pravednyk is confident that despite the Russian pressure, the Grain Initiative brokered by the UN Secretary General and President of Turkey on July 22 will be prolonged and reinforced.
He said since the initiative became operational, 350 ships with 7.8 million tonnes of agricultural products have been dispatched from Ukrainian ports, including more than 1.1 million tonnes to African countries.
Pravednyk said Ukraine is important to Kenya and asked the Kenyan government and public to speak in one voice demanding Russia to immediately stop its aggression and keep its commitments under the ‘grain corridor’ to the safety of commercial vehicles operating in the Black Sea.
“Successful shipment of Ukrainian wheat to the Port of Mombasa is our joint victory and we will work resolutely to bring both peace and bread to our country and to the rest of the world,” he said.
He urged Kenyans to remember the Ukrainian army in their prayers as they were on the battlefield while their farmers were combating hunger to safeguard global food security.
“As our Minister for Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba mentioned during his African tour this October, ‘we are in one boat’. The vessel with Ukrainian grain to Kenya is not only a vital supply, but also a symbol of our perseverance and unity” he said.
Edited by A.N