Bigger Food Crisis Can Be Averted If Asia Remembers Not to Panic
- Key lesson from 2008 is ‘do not spook the market,’ Timmer says
- Abundant rice stockpiles may help cushion soaring wheat prices
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The world’s food problem is already severe as prices jump and protectionism flares but there’s a good chance governments can stop it from getting way worse if they heed a lesson from the crisis in 2008: don’t panic.
With a gauge of global prices already at a record following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a spate of nations have moved to curb exports in crops from wheat and sugar to cooking oils, exacerbating security risks for the rest of the world. Bad weather is a concern, too. Still, while wheat, corn and soy have soared, rice, a staple for more than 3 billion people, has so far been more stable.