BELOKURIKHA, February 28. /TASS/. More frequent cases of drought and floods in certain African countries raise higher grain needs of the region and thereby open additional opportunities for Russian exporters, Consultant of the FAO Liaison Office for Russia Igor Shpakov said at the 18th Grain Conference.

"Opportunities to meet demands of this market open again for Russia, considering that Africa in general is turning into a serious export destination. This is Egypt in the first instance and the group of nearby countries, such as Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria; all of them steadily have positions in the top ten wheat importers for a long time. There is also a number of new destinations; you know that Kenya had the 40% increase in Russian wheat supplies last year," Shpakov said.

Hot weather and moisture shortage are observed since November 2024 in Algeria and Morocco, the expert said. Such conditions continue in this season so far. Some Sahel countries (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad) experienced heavy rains when harvesting, which led to floods in some cases. In particular, grain storages were flooded and Chad, in particular, has recently canceled grain import duties.

High population growth rates are now observed in Africa, totaling 2.3% annually against the 1.6% global average, Shpakov noted. The population of the continent now stands at 1.5 billion people, compared to less than 1 billion in 2010. Population growth continues influencing the increase in regional grain consumption, he added.