Colombian farmers and exporters are worried about Russia’s exclusion from the Swift network

The Colombian agricultural sector will be affected by the consequences of the military aggression perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine. One of the sector’s biggest concerns stems from the most recent series of sanctions announced by the European Union and the United States against Russia, which includes the expulsion of some Russian banks from the Swift international financial mechanism.

“This is an international interbank communication system that allows transferring money from an account in one country to accounts in other countries,” stated Rodolfo Correa, the president of Colombia’s National Council of Agricultural Secretaries (Consa).

This sanction would have very serious effects on Colombian agriculture, stated Correa. “The plantain and banana sectors (where Antioquia is one of the main exporters), the cocoa sector, and even the dairy sector will have to look for alternative markets because the buyers from Russia will no longer have a way to make bank transfers,” he added.

The war in Ukraine will also make it hard to import key agro-inputs for Colombia’s food production, as Russia and Ukraine are important suppliers of these products. For example, 42% of the urea, the fertilizer most used by local farmers, comes from Russia and Ukraine.

The Consa called on the National Government to evaluate urgent measures, such as the suspension of VAT on the marketing of agricultural supplies in Colombia, as well as on the consumption, production, and marketing of food, to avoid hyperinflation in the family basket.