WITH no end to the ongoing food crisis in sight, experts are doing their best to understand the root causes of soaring prices. Steady growth in global demand is obviously a factor, as are weather disruptions, and biofuel production and subsidies have come under (deserved) attack, as well.

These explanations account for much of the current situation, but surprisingly little ink has been spilled in the western media on the looming breakdown in food trade. Rising food prices in many Asian nations have placed governments under pressure, and their response, increasingly, has been to curb or halt exports of food crops. China, India, Vietnam, Egypt, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan have all taken measures to reduce or stop foreign sales of grains--primarily rice, but also wheat.

This is distressing. It's immediate impact is to harm nations that previously imported food from the now closed markets. Middle eastern countries, in particular, have found themselves searching frantically for new suppliers as the restrictions have come down. Each new export restriction complicates matters for other exporters, as well. The reduction in available food supply increases demand pressures on their export crops, pushing up prices and boosting calls for similar export restrictions. The result is a panic, familiar territory in financial markets but slightly novel in the global food trade.

It's difficult to imagine America or Europe taking similar steps. Still, as the stock of remaining exporters shrinks, prices to domestic consumers in those places will continue to soar, and it will no doubt be difficult to meet domestic demand and calls for food assistance elsewhere.

Over the long-term, bigger questions loom. If nations are so quick to protect domestic food stocks, will they not also respond similarly to rising energy prices? What will happen in a nation with export restrictions if domestic crops fail? And will this result in a worldwide move to increased self-sufficiency, forcing economies to allocate resources away from more productive pursuits and toward agriculture?

It's in no one's interest to see global trade in food products collapse. The gains from trade are immense, and the potential pain of increased food prices and famine resulting from export restrictions is significant. It would be nice to see global leadership on this issue coming from Europe or America. Efforts must be made to restore confidence in food trade and re-open closed markets.