A growing number of countries are signing pledges to resist export controls and other barriers to the movement of food and other necessities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But some countries are leaning in the other direction. They’re just a few examples, and as Bloomberg’s Isis Almeida and Agnieszka de Sousa report this week, there are no clear signs the trend that will grow more widely.
But wheat prices in Chicago have rallied in the past week on hoarding concerns, a gentle reminder that bread has emerged throughout history as a symbol of despair when supplies run low and people get hungry.
So what’s happening raises a question: Is this the start of a wave of food protectionism that will further disrupt supply chains and trade flows? “Giv