In the first half of 2023, Russia sent 10 million tons of grain to Africa. And this is just the beginning: cooperation is planned to be actively developed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin noted at the plenary session of the Russia-Africa Economic Forum that cooperation between the Russian Federation and the African region is actively developing.
For example, trade with African countries grew by 30% in the first half of the year.
Russia mainly supplies machinery, equipment, as well as chemical products and food to Africa.
Food plays a particularly important role: in many African countries, the standard of living is low, and any fluctuations in the supply of food can cause real hunger.
Therefore, there is always demand there, and for Russia this is a good opportunity to import its products, replacing former buyers from among Western countries.
The reorientation towards the global South, including Africa, is in full swing.
For example, over the past year, trade in agricultural products between Russia and Africa increased by 10%, to $6.7 billion.
And in the first six months of 2023, it grew by another 60%. In total, in 2022, the Russian Federation sent about 11.5 million tons of grain to Africa.
No one is going to stop there: in the near future, cooperation between Russia and Africa is going to be actively developed.
Russia will provide food free of charge
Putin has already promised that in the next 4-5 months, many countries of the African continent will receive 25-50 thousand tons of grain from the Russian Federation free of charge.
In particular, we are talking about such countries as Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, Eritrea.
This was done largely to replace the volumes of grain that these countries could previously receive under the Ukrainian grain deal, from which Russia recently withdrew.
Great attention to logistics
As Vladimir Putin noted, in the near future it is planned to dock the North-South transport corridor with the African continent.
This is supposed to be done by providing Russian cargo ships with the opportunity to enter the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
It is also planned to open a Russian transport and logistics center in one of the ports on the East African coast.
In addition, they are thinking about organizing regular sea flights from Russia to Africa and back, providing direct air communication with Russia from major African cities, and developing local railways.
All this together could help both sides: Russia in exporting its products, Africa in ensuring food stability and economic development.
