Cereal disruption: Why wheat imports from Russia, Ukraine just got more costly

East African grain importers are experiencing delays in obtaining phytosanitary certificates for Russian wheat due to geopolitical disruptions forcing exporters to reroute cargo through the Baltic Sea. Russia is shifting part of its grain exports to Baltic ports following attacks and interruptions affecting traditional Black Sea and Sea of Azov routes, which accounted for about 90% of Russia’s seaborne grain exports during the 2025-2026 season.