AfDB Sees Inflation Surge on Food, Energy Prices
By Benjamin Orisemeke
Nigeria and other African country will likely experience further inflationary pressures this year due to the rising fertilizer, energy and food costs occasioned by the Ukraine war, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
President of the AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina, who spoke at an event in Washington DC, urged African government’s to prepare for at global food crisis.
Russia and Ukraine supply 30 percent of global wheat exports, and prices have surged by almost 50 percent since the war, Adesina said. Fertilizer and energy prices also jumped, all fueling inflation, he added.
Russia’s exports to Africa were worth $4 billion exports in 2020, with 90 percent of them made up of wheat. Ukraine’s $3 billion in exports to the continent consisted of 48 percent wheat and 31 percent corn, according to the AfDB.
Africa must rapidly expand its food production to fend off the looming food crisis, and the AfDB is working to help the continent achieve this end, Adesina said.