Ea st Africa’s promising economic recovery has been disrupted by the war in Ukraine.Russia and Ukraine are some of the region’s top suppliers of agricultural commodities such as wheat, soybeans and barley. The price of grains, fuel and fertiliser in the region has also increased significantly since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.Experts say the conf lict in Europe is compounding an already complicated situation in East Africa – a region that remains intent on growing trade, diversifying its range of commodities, and improving its economic status.“East Africa was hit hard by the Covid pandemic but was recovering well,” said Duncan Bonnett, a director at Africa House.According to the African Development Bank, economic growth was expected to recover to an average of 4.1% in 2021, up from 0.4% posted in 2020, with an average growth of 4.9% projected for this year.While it remained difficult to predict the exact impact of the ongoing war on the region, it was disrupting global commodity markets and trade f lows to Africa, increasing already high food prices in the region.The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, increased 12.6% from February to March, with the March index the highest it has been since the measure was created in the 1990s.This does not bode well for African countries in general, but particularly for East Africa, a region that has been struggling with droughts and the Covid-19 pandemic.But, says Bonnett, it is also an extremely resilient region that has been systematically increasing its trade – not only through more traditional methods but also by embracing technology.“They have made major inroads in such a way that it does not just benefit the formalised trade sector but also informal traders,” he told Freight News. “One such example is the WhatsApp system they have for traders who experience difficulty at border posts. They can simply message their issue to get assistance. Much work has also been done to harmonise systems and regulations, while there is a very real commitment from the countries to work together.”According to Bonnett, the aligned approach taken by East African countries has allowed the region to address challenges far more proactively.“The region is constantly monitoring its trade corridors, allowing them to have a good grasp of what the price of logistics is, where the bottlenecks are and to try and work together as a region to come up with workable solutions.” He said while this approach was not always without hiccups, a lot could be said about the ongoing efforts to deepen regional economic integration.
