Africa: Russia-Ukraine War - Malawi and Africa Lose Billions in Economic Stability
AllAfrica
February 24, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
As Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches its fourth year, African nations, including Malawi, continue to grapple with severe economic consequences stemming from disrupted wheat and fertilizer imports from the Black Sea region. Once reliant on importing over 80% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine, countries across Africa now face chronic food shortages, soaring inflation rates (reaching as high as 20-30% in Kenya and Nigeria), and skyrocketing fertilizer costs—prices that have tripled, leading to a sharp decline in agricultural yields. This situation has been further exacerbated by the impact of two devastating cyclones, Ana and Gombe, which struck Malawi in early 2022, destroying crops and infrastructure at a time when global supply chains were already strained.
Experts warn that the war's economic fallout has not only caused immediate food insecurity but also triggered broader inflationary pressures across the continent. Grace Mijiga Mhango, president of the Grain Traders Association of Malawi, described the first two years of the conflict as "brutal" for agricultural sectors, particularly due to logistics challenges and fertilizer shortages. While African producers have stepped up to meet demand from countries like Dubai, India, China, and South Africa, the continent's reliance on imports has left it vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions. Meanwhile, temporary relief efforts, such as Russian humanitarian fertilizer shipments totaling 20,000 tons in 2023, have provided limited relief but fail
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Originally published on AllAfrica on 2/24/2026