• Egypt tops Africa with $16.4B in food imports
• Africa’s total food imports hit $97B (2021–2023)
• Somalia most dependent; Liberia least reliant on food imports

Egypt has emerged as Africa's largest food importer, according to a recent report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The report, "The State of Commodity Dependence 2025," reveals that Africa's food imports totaled $97 billion between 2021 and 2023, an increase of nearly 19% from the 2012-2014 period. Despite this growth, Africa's import bill remains well below that of China ($208 billion) and the United States ($177 billion).

Egypt led the continent with $16.4 billion in food imports, primarily consisting of cereals, oilseeds, sugar, meat, and dairy products. This figure is particularly notable given that Egypt's population is roughly half that of Nigeria, which ranked fifth on the list. Algeria followed with $9.98 billion in imports, then Morocco at $8.7 billion, South Africa at $6 billion, and Nigeria with $5.59 billion.

The report also highlighted the disparity in import dependence across the continent. Liberia had the lowest share of food in its total merchandise imports, at just 2.6%, while Somalia was the most dependent, with food imports accounting for 35.8% of its total imports.

The following table details food import expenditures for African nations from 2021 to 2023, based on UNCTAD data.