Rising food prices shake North Africa as Ukraine war rages

Rising food prices shake North Africa as Ukraine war rages

TUNIS: Households across North Africa are rushing to stock up on flour, semolina and other staples as food prices rise following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both key wheat exporters to the region. The scramble is worse coming just weeks before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims traditionally break a dawn-to-dusk fast with lavish family meals. Tunisia, Morocco and Libya, along with several other Arab countries, import much of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia.

Some fear the Russian invasion could lead to hunger and unrest, with memories of how rising food prices played a role in several Arab uprisings last decade. In one supermarket in the Tunisian capital, the shelves were bare of flour or semolina, and only three packs of sugar sat on a shelf near a sign that read: “One kilo per customer, please”. Store managers said the problem was “panic buying”, not shortages.

Shopper Houda Hjeij, who said she hadn’t been able to find rice or flour for two weeks, blamed the authorities. “With the war in Ukraine, they did not think ahead,” the 52-year-old housewife in Tunis said. Bulk-buying ahead of Ramadan, which is expected to start in early April this year, is common