Davos gathering overshadowed by global economic worries

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Soaring inflation. Russia’s war in Ukraine. Squeezed supply chains. The threat of food insecurity around the world. The lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

The risks to the global economy are many, and it’s led to an increasingly gloomy view of the months ahead as corporate leaders, government officials and other VIPs gather in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund sought to dispel the gloom during an economic panel this week, saying a global recession isn’t in the cards but “it doesn’t mean it’s out of the question.”

Kristalina Georgieva noted that the IMF last month forecast 3.6% economic growth for 2022, which is “a long way to global recession.” But she acknowledged that it’s going to be a “tough year” and that one of the big problems is surging food prices, partly fueled by the Russia-Ukraine war.

“The anxiety around access to food at a reasonable price globally is hitting the roof,” she said.

The brewing food crisis — especially for countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia that rely on affordable wheat, barley and sunflower oil that are blocked in the ports of major producer Ukraine — has been a key topic in Davos.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Russia of deliberately bombarding grain warehouses across Ukraine and using food supplies as a weapon.

Besides that, “Russia is now hoarding its own food exports as a form of blackmail — holding back supplies to increase global prices, or trading wheat in exchange for political support," said von der Leyen, the head of the European Union's executive arm. “This is using hunger and grain to wield power.”

The elites that huddle every year about ways to help save the world also are...