The narrative that SubSaharan Africa (SSA) food imports are increasing annually at a rapid rate seems to be inaccurate, but stable since 2011.
According to an article titled “Unpacking the misconceptions about Africa’s food imports” by the Brookings Institution, an American research group, while the value of SSA food imports rose rapidly during 2005-2011, the annual value of those imports has actually declined slightly and then levelled off since 2011.
“The fact that even with rapidly growing demand for food driven by population growth and rising per capita incomes, the value of SSA food imports has not continued to rise over the past decade can be explained by the region’s success in expanding food production,” the Institute said.
It further explained that the African Development Bank’s projection that Africa’s food imports would reach $90 billion by 2030 was based on trends during 2000- 2010, a period when global food prices rose rapidly and do not reflect the more recent 2011/2019 period during which the value of SSA’S food imports has been relatively flat.
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SSA has always been seen prone to face grave hunger due to armed conflict, political instability and climate change-linked disasters. Because of this, international bodies say affected countries require food assistance and investment to prevent humanitarian catastrophes.
While SSA imports much more food today than it did two decades ago, it exports much more too. The region imported roughly $ 40 billion per year over the past four years while it exported roughly $35 billion.
Moreover, the region’s lower-middle-income countries, led by Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Kenya, have become agricultural export powerhouses, with a net agricultural trade surplus of more than $5 billion per year.
SSA’S top exports are mainly tropical commodities such as cocoa, coffee, tea, and cotton, while its main food imports are wheat, rice, soybeans, other oilseeds, and frozen meat products.
“Two types of countries are responsible for SSA’S net agricultural import situation—countries that export oil and minerals, and conflict-ridden states. These countries are almost fully responsible for the region’s net agricultural trade deficit. Nigeria alone is a net agricultural importer of over $5 billion per year, while Angola, the DRC, and Somalia account for another $5 billion per year combined,” it stated.
As the region’s population grows and gets richer, the demand for food, especially high-value crops and livestock products, will continue to grow. The firm proffered that effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) will be an important step in enabling African farmers and agribusinesses to increasingly meet the region’s growing demand for food.
“To realise these opportunities for intra-African agricultural trade, though, SSA countries will need to focus on improving agricultural productivity to compete effectively against low-cost imports from the international market,” Brookings said.
It further added that to compete at this level requires investments in agricultural Research and Development and extension services. “African states will also have to reduce the costs of trade, by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers, streamlining customs procedures and improving regional transport links in order to realise the full potential of the AFCFTA,” it said.
