Latin America can help ease some of the food, metal and energy shortages created by Russia’s war in Ukraine, but the region will only benefit fully if it embraces reforms and promotes social inclusion, a top IMF official said.
Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s top grain exporters. Russia is also a key supplier of oil, gas, metals and fertiliser. The war in Ukraine and the sanctions applied by western nations to punish Moscow have led to sharp jumps in global food and fuel prices and sent companies scurrying for alternative sources of supply.
“You have a shock where you lack commodities, food commodities and energy and also metals, there is a food security issue and [Latin America] is seen as the one that will help us overcome the problems,” Ilan Goldfajn, director of the fund’s western hemisphere department, told the Financial Times in an interview this week.