The coronavirus pandemic hit the world at a time of plentiful harvests and ample food reserves. Yet a cascade of protectionist restrictions, transport disruptions and processing breakdowns has dislocated the global food supply and put the planet\u2019s most vulnerable regions in particular peril.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have a food crisis with lots of food. That\u2019s the situation we\u2019re in,\u201d said Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO.<\/p>\n
Prices for staples such as rice and wheat have jumped<\/a> in many cities, in part because of panic buying set off by export restrictions imposed by countries eager to ensure sufficient supplies at home. Trade disruptions and lockdowns are making it harder to move produce<\/a> from farms to markets, processing plants and ports, leaving some food to rot in the fields.<\/p>\n At the same time, more people around the world are running short of money as economies contract and incomes shrivel or disappear. Currency devaluations in developing nations that depend on tourism or depreciating commodities like oil have compounded those problems, making imported food even less affordable.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, we have always dealt with either a demand-side crisis, or a supply-side crisis. But this is both\u2014a supply and a demand crisis at the same time, and at a global level,\u201d said Arif Husain, chief economist at the UN\u2019s World Food Program. \u201cThis makes it unprecedented and uncharted.\u201d<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Up to 36 nations could face famines by the end of the year https:\/\/t.co\/OOhZmji1hd<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 13, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n