Ukrainian ambassador to Kenya Andrii Pravednyk was at the port to receive the consignment aboard the vessel ‘Super Henry’ carrying 51,400 tons of Ukrainian wheat.
The ambassador said that two more vessels had already left the Ukrainian with a total tonnage of 78,000 tons of wheat also destined for Kenya.
“The departure of the two vessels from the port in Ukraine brings the total of wheat sent to Kenya to 128,200 metric tons which is still not enough,” said Pravednyk.
Pravednyk promised that Ukraine will continue working with Kenyan authorities and commercial companies to bring more wheat to Kenya to fill the shortage occasioned by the war going on in their country.
He said that 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
Ukraine is one of the world largest grain suppliers of wheat with the share in global trade around 10 per cent.
“We are confident that the arrival of “Super Henry” to the Port of Mombasa with 51,400 tons of Ukrainian wheat on board will bring significant relief to Kenyan consumers, helping to mitigate the prices and remove the deficit,” Pravednyk said.
He added that 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.
According to Ukrainian statistics, in 2021 Ukraine exported to Kenya a record 355.5 thousand metric tons of wheat worth USD 89.7 million.
Pravednyk said that the Russian occupiers had damaged approximately 4 million tons Ukraines grain storage capacity saying they had also seized up to 1 million tons of grain crops and sunflower oil at the estimated cost of USD 600 million.
He added that the total damage to Ukrainian agricultural sector is currently estimated at USD 4.29 billion as market experts forecast the production of grain in Ukraine in 2022 at the level of 65 million tons.
“The missiles strikes and shelling by Russian troops had damaged and destroyed dozens of farms, stocks of food and seed, silos, warehouses, oil depots, agriculture machinery and equipment”
“At least 90 agribusinesses have been damaged in Ukraine and about 13 per cent of Ukrainian territory has been contaminated by Russian mines and explosive remnants of war,” he said.
He however reiterated that 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.
He remained optimistic 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.
“Since the initiative became operational, 350 ships with 7.8 million tons of agricultural products were dispatched from Ukrainian ports, including more than 1.1 million tons for African countries,” he said.
