Food crisis fuels fears of protectionism compounding shortages

FILE PHOTO: A worker carries a sack of wheat flour at a World Food Programme food aid distribution center in Sanaa, Yemen February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - A growing world food crisis is precipitating protectionist moves by countries which are likely to compound the problem and could lead to a wider trade war, business leaders and policymakers at the World Economic Forum said.

In a sign of the escalating squeeze on food supplies and rising prices, a government source told Reuters that India could restrict sugar exports for the first time in six years to prevent a surge in domestic prices.