Taiwan will have to open its wallet much wider if it wants to keep its last remaining ally in South America from switching diplomatic relations to Beijing, said the main opposition candidate in Paraguay’s election.Efraín Alegre, whose broad centre-left alliance is leading in some polls before Sunday’s ballot to elect a president, lawmakers and state governors, said Paraguay was losing out economically from its current relationship with Taiwan.

“We don’t see that Taiwan is making the same sacrifices that Paraguay is making,” Alegre told the Financial Times in a video interview from Asunción. “We’re not saying that we necessarily have to have relations with China but?.?.?.?we can’t ignore our national interests.”

A landlocked country with a population of 7mn people, Paraguay is the fourth-biggest exporter of soyabeans and the eighth-largest seller of beef. Its powerful farming lobby has complained for years that recognition of Taiwan rather than China is costing billions of dollars in export revenue. Neighbouring Brazil and Argentina, both leading soyabean and beef producers, have long had diplomatic ties with Beijing.