Fears of new agricultural export bans look overdone

Talk of widespread export bans has continued to boost the prices of agricultural commodities over the last few days, but the basis for this speculation remains flimsy. The immediate focus is the possibility of a halt on wheat exports from the Ukraine, which is actually a relatively small player in the global market. Russia is reluctant to follow. What’s more, there is no sign of a return to the bans elsewhere on exports of other key crops – notably rice – that exacerbated the 2007-08 global food price shock.