Increased food imports worrisome

Rome - Global grain imports have increased more than fivefold over the past half century, stoking fears that countries have become too dependent on the vagaries of international markets for their food, an environmental researcher said.

If prices rise, or wild weather prompts countries to impose grain export bans, as Russia did in 2010, nations heavily dependent on imports could face crisis.

More than a third of countries import at least 25% of their grains, an increase of 57% since 1961, said Gary Gardner, a researcher at the Worldwatch Institute in Washington.