Trafigura fears for emerging markets

The impact on Africa and Latin America of spiralling energy prices should not be ignored

“Europe can probably afford to pay,” Jeremy Weir, CEO of commodity trading firm Trafigura, told the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit on Tuesday, in reference to spikes in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “One of the problems is what happens to Africa and Lat[in] Am[erica].” These regions are “a long way from supply routes [and] shipping costs have increased enormously as a result of the conflict”, Weir continues. “We are very concerned about the stock-outs that are going to take place in Africa,” Weir says, noting that many nations in the region are heavily reliant on diesel for power generation and mobility. “We are getting into some very critical periods for t