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[quote]Thailand on Monday said it planned to barter rice for oil with Iran in the clearest example to date of how the triple financial, fuel and food crisis is reshaping global trade as countries struggle with high commodity prices and a lack of credit.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation said such government-to-government bartering – a system of trade not used for decades – was likely to become more common as the private sector was finding it hard to access credit for food imports.

“Government-to-government deals will increase in number,â€

Not much of a step back really, this was going on even in the 80s between some governments.

Still, it's not a great sign, as it means governments aren't feeling all that trustworthy of the currencies these days and rather have real goods in their hands in exchange (not that I can blame them right now).