Paraguay suffers from Russia sanctions as it has to suspend meat exports to this country

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The United States, the European Union (EU), Canada, and the United Kingdom have decided to suspend Russia’s access to the Swift system in retaliation for the war in Ukraine. The Paraguayan meat production and export sector expressed concern and is considering new market alternatives to mitigate the impact.

Russia is the second-largest importer of Paraguayan meat, so the suspension of the Swift system, through which payments were made, is creating a crisis in the national meat sector.

Daniel Burt, executive director of the National Meat Chamber (CNC), told La Nación that the sanction is very harsh and could make it very difficult for Russia to collect and pay its obligations.

Although the suspension has already occurred, it would not be complete, so it would have to be investigated if the banks that work with Paraguayan meat are also suspended. If this is the case, it would have immediate consequences for the country, so other instances would have to be investigated to continue the transactions carried out before the invasion.

He explained that the meat currently being transported will reach its destination and the Russian companies will have to see how they can arrange deliveries with their customers, but he clarified that for now there will be no new deliveries for the Russian market.

This is the first direct consequence for the country after the start of the war under the sanctions adopted.

DIVERSIFICATION

20% of Paraguay’s total beef exports went to the Russian market until last year, and this makes it necessary to analyze new export strategies so that supply volumes do not decrease. In this sense, Burt said, the possibility of diversifying the market with the more than 70 active destinations of the country is being studied.

Meat shipments to Russia exceeded 80,000 tons, so new market alternatives will have to be sought.

With information from La Nacion Paraguay