Jamaica preparing for impact from Ukraine – Russia conflict

Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness, says they are monitoring and preparing for the impact that the country’s economy will face brought about by the conflict between, Ukraine and Russia.

“We expect that the impact on Jamaica could be through the global energy prices, oil prices, in particular, and possibly through some commodities, maybe wheat [and] flour prices.”

Holness added that the tensions between Ukraine and Russia can also lead to the fallout of global production and greater demand for shipping, with increased prices.

“Global inflation impacts local inflation and external shock. Energy prices [might] go up as a result of uncertainties in the energy market,” he further pointed out.

He noted, however, that the Jamaican economy continues to show strong recovery even in the face of crises and likewise urged the energy and agricultural sectors to be more resilient.

“We need to do much more in our energy resilience. We have not done enough to cut our reliance on oil when we have abundant sunshine and wind. We have been, as a country, toying with our energy policy.”

Jamaica should have been at 50 per cent renewable energy generation by now, he said.

Holness further disclosed “a major project” will change Jamaica’s reliance on non-renewable fossil fuels will be announced in a few weeks.

In addition, he said food security is also vital to sustaining the economy.

“As the prices go up, households are finding it more difficult, because [with] the options to switch from high-cost food to low-cost produce, we don’t have many. We need to spend much more effort on ensuring our food security.”