Chronicle of raw materials

Worrying food situation in West Africa: cereal stocks at their lowest

Audio 01:37

The maize market is particularly critical.

It is the first cereal grown in West Africa, but production fell last season due to lack of fertilizer and its price has only risen.

© CC0 Pixabay/Vijaya Narasimha

By: Marie-Pierre Olphand Follow

2 mins

In West Africa, the lean season could start earlier than usual due to insufficient grain stocks.

To make matters worse, prices on the market could be historically high.

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Sorghum, millet, maize, local or imported rice, the price of all cereals in West Africa is on the rise and exceeds the average of the last 5 years.

Inventories are also much lower than usual.

Result: the lean season should be early and above all cost more for households, warns the economic bulletin of the cereal markets N'Kalo.

The maize market is particularly critical.

It is the first cereal grown in the sub-region, but production fell during the last campaign, due to the lack of fertilizers, and its price only increased.

And for the same reasons, the yields of the small harvest which arrives this summer should not be exceptional.

Just like those of the great autumn harvest whose sowing begins in certain regions.

The low yield should however be partly offset by an increase in surface area.

► To read also: Food security in the Maghreb, an economic and political issue for Europeans

Rice to replace corn?

To the lack of fertilizer which weighs on all crops, is added the insecurity in the Sahelian zone.

In particular in Mali, which was historically the grain basket of the sub-region and which today generates hardly any surplus to export to neighboring countries.

Rice is the grain that stands out and could be favored on the plates in the coming months: stocks are comfortable, world production looks set to be very good this year, a record 515 million tonnes, according to the International Council of cereals.

And even though freight costs have increased, rice has increased less than corn.

► To read also: Rice, an alternative to replace wheat in sub-Saharan Africa?

Other products from the region, such as yams, cassava or plantain, could also serve as a substitute, but there are circulation difficulties: several ECOWAS countries have implemented export bans.

"

", deplores an expert.

The crisis has been looming for several months.

And if the war in Ukraine is not the direct cause, it has worsened the situation.

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