Canada Seeks to Boost Wheat Exports to Africa Amid Competition from Black Sea Grain

Canada is seeking to increase its wheat exports to Africa, where it already faces competition from cheaper grain from the Black Sea region. According to Cereals Canada, African countries have significant potential for increased supplies of Canadian wheat. In Nigeria, high-quality Canadian wheat is blended with cheaper Black Sea wheat to maintain quality characteristics while keeping bread prices affordable.

Rising demand in Africa is being driven by rapid population growth, urbanization and increasing incomes, which are boosting consumption of bread, pasta and noodles. Canada is also targeting growing demand from noodle and pasta producers, as Canadian wheat is particularly well suited to instant noodle production.

Canada exported around 5 million tonnes of wheat to Africa in 2025, the highest level in the past five years. Access to African markets remains challenging due to regulatory and non-tariff trade barriers. Competition is also increasing from other major grain-exporting countries like Russia, Ukraine, France, Australia and the United States.