Barter beware: by leaving markets, food importers make things worse

“Before all else, a government must safeguard the basic needs of its citizens. Yet, from north Africa to China, and from Russia to south Asia, governments have started entering into a secretive web of barter deals as a substitute for global commodity, because the financing for the international food trade is drying up or becoming too expensive. This is a dangerous tend that rich and poor countries must work to reverse.

(more…)