Browsing: IMF

At the close of 2022, between September to December, food prices soared around the world and with no signs of this abating in 2023, countries in Africa will have to move with speed to mitigate a looming food crisis. Photo/WFO

At the close of 2022, between September to December, food prices soared around the world and with no signs of this abating in 2023, countries in Africa will have to move with speed to mitigate a looming food crisis. 

Food inflation is particularly pronounced and severe in low-income and middle-income countries. According to most recent sector reports, up to 94.1% of low-income countries around the world suffer food inflation.

With increasing food prices, the cost of living is increasing, and it is no better in lower-middle-income countries of which 92.9% are contending with food inflation.

Also Read: Starvation, death threaten Horn of Africa stability 

Even the upper-middle-income countries are also facing food inflation with 89% reporting unprecedented double-digit inflation. 

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), maize prices in December 2022 went up by 27% while wheat shot up 13% higher compared to the same period in 2021.

As we

Transport infrastructure will help better integrate Africa and increase trade
Before the Covid-19 Pandemic struck, East African countries had a common agenda to invest in infrastructure development.
As the three main economies of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda they sought to become competitive and attractive investment destinations, the issue of borrowing in foreign currencies created the debt burden they face today.
The mega investments in roads, railways, ports and aviation, have all been challenges, as low revenue collections and high recurrent expenditures continue to plague their respective governments.

Most of the countries have no choice but borrow to bridge budget deficits. According to the IMF, the major EAC nations, namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda, together, had borrowed more than $100 billion in both external and domestic borrowing.

With the global economy in teeters post Covid-19 and the impact of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, economies worldwide are contracting, leaving East African nations in a perilous situation.

According to the IMF, about

nuclear

The world has in recent months witnessed a dramatic turnabout on the future of nuclear energy, mainly in the developed countries.

This is on the back of the Russia-Ukraine war which has seen post-pandemic energy shortages turn into a full-blown energy crisis.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), nuclear power plants slated for closure across Europe have been given “an 11th hour reprieve.

Japan has announced, after a decade of paralysis, that it plans to restart many of its reactors, which have sat idle since the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi.

France, which had launched plans to reduce its dependence on nuclear energy during President Macron’s first term, reversed course and now, plans to build at least six new reactors and a dozen smaller modular reactors.

The UK on the other hand recently launched an ambitious plan to build eight new reactors and16 small modular reactors.

Even anti-nuclear Germany

Kenya's president Ruto

Kenya’s President William Ruto has asked his Cabinet Secretaries to act fast to deliver on his administration’s development programmes, “with speed and efficiency”.

“We made important promises to the people of Kenya, especially those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. And we must deliver,” the president said.

According to Ruto, there are no excuses not to deliver his mandate adding that the government must work as a team and drive the interests of the people.

He was speaking at a cabinet retreat on the implementation of the government’s development priorities for 2023.

In the run up to the August 2022 General Elections, Ruto gave a number of promises under his bottoms-up economic plan.He unveiled a five-point manifesto dubbed ‘The Plan’, which he said would address Kenya’s economic challenges.

Economic recovery in a post-Covid era was one of his main objectives. Ruto also pledged to invest at least Sh250 billion …

Global fertilizer prices have tripled since early 2020 and remain volatile, putting a stable supply of fertilizer out of reach of many small farmers. Photo/TopAfricaNews
  • Africa produces more fertilizer than it consumes yet it imports to meet demand gaps
  • Poor inter-country trade facilities affect fertilizer supply chain within the continent
  • Developed countries use up to seven times more fertilizer per hectare than Africa

Recent reports show that fertiliser prices have tripled since early 2020 and remain volatile, putting a previous stable supply of fertiliser out of reach of many small farmers impacting food security across the continent.

The reason for this decline in access to fertilizers and hence the increase in global prices has been two fold; first the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains then the Russia-Ukraine war exacerbated the shortage.

There are other reasons like restricted supply caused by increased export taxes and even complete export bans by various countries. However, these policy restrictions, which in most cases are meant to protect the farmers of the exporting countries, all came into play owing to …

Sierra Leone's debt-to-GDP

Sierra Leone's government may have to impose severe austerity measures.  These measures will address inefficiencies and inadequacies in allocating and administrating public resources. However, all hands must be on deck within these economic management measures. This will secure the ring-fencing of money for essential objectives like education, livelihood preservation, and health. These objectives remain critical to maintaining social stability and a rapid return to the economic recovery path.…

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Fruit juice is popular and some consumers are replacing soft drinks with the juices as a healthier version. As opposed to carbonated drinks, consumers are gravitating towards processed fruit juice. Fruit juice companies in Ghana include; Cape trading Co Ltd, Tiatapic Agro Food & Services, Aquafresh Ltd, Akramang processing Industries Ltd, Bet Better Ent among others. www.theexchange.africa

Ghana competes in the global economy primarily using natural resources. Other than the usual exports of cocoa, gold, lumber, and crude oil, Ghana has a competitive advantage in numerous product categories. Increasing the proportion of high-income commodities in the export basket hastens economic transition.

The opportunity is providing better, economically advantageous items to regional and worldwide markets. Cocoa processing, wood processing, aluminium products, palm oil, food and agro-processing, and fish processing are examples of manufacturing sub-sectors that fit these two requirements.

Manufacturing subsectors that capture considerable proportions of manufacturing value-added, such as food and drinks, chemicals, and textiles, have significant technology, knowledge, and skills inherent in them. These assets can be used to produce additional goods within the sub-sector or even outside of it. It is also easier to go up the value chain after you have mastered relevant technologies and markets.…

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Tourism sector rated best in The Gambia. www.theexchange.africa

The Gambia has a small economy that relies primarily on agriculture, tourism, and remittances for support. It remains heavily dependent on the agriculture sector.  The Gambia can bank on these sectors for economic growth and to repay their debt.

Gambian agriculture has been characterized by subsistence production of food crops comprising cereals (early millet, late millet, maize, sorghum, rice), and semi-intensive cash crop production (groundnut, cotton, sesame, and horticulture). Farmers generally practice mixed farming, although crops account for a greater portion of the production.

Groundnuts are the traditional cash crop. The Gambia also exports produce to Europe; Gambian mangoes and other fruits may now be found on the shelves of the supermarket chains like Tesco and Sainsburys. The Gambia’s largest trade partner is Cote D’Ivoire, a fellow Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member, from which The Gambia imports the majority of its fuel products. Other major trade partners…

South Korea's economic miracle

South Korean industry began with the production of textiles and footwear and then moved into heavy industries like steel, heavy equipment, ships, petrochemicals, electronics, and automobiles by the 1980s.

Africa needs to follow the economic lead of countries like South Korea that developed into advanced states through export-led economic growth and the development of strong domestic economies. South Korea committed to rapid industrialization. This is what caused the economy to take off. However, it is important to note that economic development was also set in motion by leaders who implemented land reform and educational development.

Oxford Research notes, “Industrialization was characterized by a close pattern of cooperation between the state and large family-owned conglomerates known as chaebǒls. This close relationship continued after the transition to democracy in the late 1980s and 1990s but after 1987, labour emerged as a major political force, and rising wages gave further impetus to the …

African Trade

The rising commodity prices, surging inflationary pressures, and the contracting global financial situation have risked African trade and production capabilities. Moreover, the rising threat of sovereign defaults poses a severe risk to the growth of African trade. Thus, African trade prospects remain unclear, considering the challenging global economic scenario.

The Covid-19, energy and food shortages have hit with the countries having minimal or no policy space to respond. As a result, African countries have fallen into a real risk of debt distress and even possibilities for sovereign debt default.…