ERIK NORLAND, SENIOR ECONOMIST AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CME GROUP
8 JANUARY 2016
The Future of Food Demand:
China, Africa & India
All examples in this report are hypothetical interpretations of situations and are used for explanation
purposes only. The views in this report reflect solely those of the author and not necessarily those
of CME Group or its affiliated institutions. This report and the information herein should not be
considered investment advice or the results of actual market experience.
In 1798, British economist Thomas Malthus published “An
Essay on the Principle of Population” in which he argued
that population grows geometrically while food supply,
constrained by limited arable land, grows arithmetically.
Therefore, he concluded, human population growth would
eventually outstrip food supply, resulting in mass famine.
“The superior power of population is repressed, and
the actual population will be kept equal to the means of
subsistence, by misery and vice.”Uplifting, no?
What happened instead was a miracle of innovation and
productivity growth (two key variables that Malthusians
always overlook) that has enabled the world to achieve three
seemingly contradictory feats over the past half century:
Thankfully, Malthus has been proven wrong the past 217
years. At the time of Malthus’s writing, the world’s population
was slightly less than one billion (there were 968 million
people in the world in 1800, according to the United Nations
population database).
There are 7.3 billion people today and,
on average, much of this population is much better fed today
than people were two centuries ago, or even in 1961 for that
matter, when the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of
the United Nations began detailed research on the subject.
3.
Reduce the cost of food in real terms (Figures 2 and 3)
Although Malthus died in 1834, his ideas have been
resurrected repeatedly. American biologist Paul Ehrlich’s
1968 book, The Population Bomb, and the Club of Rome’s
1972 book about its doomsday computer simulation
(presumably run on punch cards and vacuum tubes),
The Limits to Growth, were massive best sellers. Both
predicted environmental catastrophe and mass starvation
if something wasn’t done to limit population growth.
Their
predictions didn’t turn out any better than Malthus’s.
1.
More than double the world population from 3.1 billion to 7.3
billion (Figure 1)
2.
Increase the amount of food per person (measured by
calories) by over 30% (Figure 1)
When one looks deeper into the details, the achievements
are even more impressive. Since 1990, not only has calorie
consumption risen per capita but the diversity of foods
eaten has increased to include a lot more protein and
vegetable oil as diets became less reliant on grains like
wheat and rice (Figure 4).
While we celebrate Ehrlich and the Club of Rome’s 47th and
43rd year of being wrong, respectively, we should be aware
that we will have to continue to grow the world’s food supply
over the next quarter century as the global population is
projected to increase by another 1.7 billion (or 23%) to
around 9 billion by 2040. Moreover, there are many areas in
the world, notably parts of Africa and India, where there is
an enormous potential to increase calorie consumption per
capita.
This paper will explore how the potential for growth
in food consumption varies across the world and where the
greatest opportunities lie.
1
. Figure 1: Malthus is dead, 7.3 billion people are alive
and (in general) eating more than ever
Figure 3: Inflation-adjusted beef and pork prices are
20% and 50% lower than in 1965, respectively
Calories Per Capita and World Population
Inflation Adjusted Livestock Spot Prices
8,000
3000
200
7,000
180
6,000
160
World Population (Right Hand Scale)
2700
5,000
2600
4,000
2500
Calories Per Capita (Left Hand Scale)
2400
3,000
2300
2,000
2200
140
120
Lean Hogs*
100
Live Cattle
80
60
40
1,000
2100
Sources: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, US Census Bureau
2015
2011
2013
2007
2009
2005
2001
2003
1997
1999
1995
1991
1993
1987
1989
1985
1981
1983
1977
1979
1975
1971
Source: Bloomberg Professional (LC1, LH1, PB1 and CPI INDX), *Pre-1987 Lean Hogs is backfilled
with Pork Bellies
Figure 2: Inflation-adjusted corn, soy and wheat
prices are now half of what they were 50 years ago
Figure 4: Less reliant on grains with greater diversity
(Total = average calories per capita x population)
Inflation Adjusted Agricultural Spot Prices
Worldwide % Change in Per Capita and
Total Consumption by Category 1990-2011
300
250
90.0%
80.0%
80.0%
January 1, 1965 = 100
1973
1967
0
1969
0
1965
2015
2011
2013
2007
2009
2003
2005
1997
1999
2001
1995
1991
1993
1987
1989
1981
1985
1983
1977
1979
1975
1971
1973
1967
1969
1965
1961
20
1963
2000
January 1, 1965 = 100
2800
World Population in Millions
Average Calories Per Capital Worldwide
2900
200
74.9%
70.0%
Corn
Soy
Wheat
59.0%
60.0%
150
69.5%
52.6%
46.6%
50.0%
40.0%
100
31.8%
34.6%
30.8%
30.0%
-10.0%
14.1%
9.6%
10.0%
0
31.0%
18.9%
20.0%
50
26.7%
2015
2011
2013
2007
2009
2005
2003
1999
2001
1997
1995
1991
Source: Bloomberg Professional (C 1, S 1, W1 and CPI INDX)
1993
1987
1989
1985
1983
1981
1979
1977
1975
1973
1971
1967
1969
1965
0.0%
-1.4%
Grain
-2.1%
Produce
Dairy & Eggs
Meat
Vegetable Oil
Sugar
Other
Total
Source: FAO STAT, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012, US Census Bureau
& CME Group Economics Research Calculations
2
. Figure 6: Low Per Capita Calories + Fast Population
Growth = Highest Potential for Growth in Food
Total food consumption = average calories per
capita x population.
Demographic trends are clear: the greatest potential for
increased population is in Africa and India which pull up the
world average. Growth in Latin America and in the United
States will remain positive but slightly below the world
average, while populations in China, Western Europe and
Japan will grow slowly and, in some cases, decline (Figure 5).
Figure 5: In terms of population growth, Africa and
India can pull up the world average
Population Growth
325
Africa
300
Visualizing Growth Potential
Total = Calories Per Capita x Population
Calories Per Capita in 2011
Greatest Potential for Growth--> <--Least Potential For Growth
The Fundamental Equation of Food
3800
3600
Least Potential
for Growth
3400
USA
Germany
Brazil
3200
China
3000
World
2800
Japan
2600
Africa
India
2400
Greatest Potential
for Growth
2200
2000
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Projected Change in Population 2015 -2040
Source: FAO STAT, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012,
US Census Bureau & CME Group Economics Research Calculations
275
1990 = 100
250
225
200
India
World
Brazil
USA
175
150
125
China
100
75
Germany
Japan
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2030
2035
2040
Source: US Census Bureau
In addition to being the fastest growing populations, Africa
and India also have lower-than-average per capita calorie
consumption. Low per capita calorie counts also imply the
highest potential for growth. By contrast, countries like
Germany and the United States have high per capital calorie
counts.
In some cases, notably Germany, high calorie counts
are also compounded by projected declines in population
and rapid aging. As such, India and Africa have the greatest
potential for growth in food consumption while Germany and
its Western European peers have the least. We expect belowaverage growth in China and Japan, and possibly in the United
States and Brazil, depending on what happens with their per
capita calorie consumption (Figure 6).
Going (roughly) in
order from greatest to least potential, this paper will discuss
the future of food by region.
Africa: Great Potential and Great Challenges
Africa is an enormously complex place to discuss and
analyze. For starters, there is some debate over how many
countries there are in the continent. There are differences
in the nation-count even between the African Union and the
United Nations.
So, depending on one’s perspective, Africa
has between 55 and 57 countries.
As varied and heterogeneous as Africa is, one thing is clear:
the continent cradles an incredibly young population
(Figure 7). If Africa is going to grow its population over the next
25 years from the current 1.15 billion to a projected 1.91 billion
and feed them well, it will need to either grow or purchase an
enormous amount of additional food, or some combination
of the two. This will be no easy task.
It will require that Africa
overcome its three major developmental challenges:
1.
Difficulty in generating an agricultural surplus.
2.
Difficulty in generating a capital surplus.
3.
Political fragmentation.
Unlike the United States, Europe, China, India and Southeast
Asia, Africa is not blessed with an abundance of arable land.
With the Sahara Desert to the north, jungles in the middle
and another desert in Southwest Africa, the remaining land
3
. suitable for crops is rather limited. It also seems that for
much of the continent, it’s either too much rain or too little.
This makes generating an agricultural surplus a challenge.
As such, while there is a great potential to improve crop
yields on the continent, for Africa to feed another 750 million
people over the next quarter century it will have to import
some portion of the additional food needed. This is a huge
opportunity for farmers in Europe and the United States who
have a direct interest in Africa’s growth and prosperity, and
for global agribusinesses, to the extent that it can help boost
Africa’s “domestic” food production sustainably.
Figure 7: Africa has a large number of youths: a
springboard for strong population growth.
Africa: Age and Sex Structure 2015
Male Population
Female Population
Similarly, Europe has many deep water ports such as Athens,
Barcelona, Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Le Havre,
Lisbon, Marseille, Naples, and navigable rivers including the
Danube, Elbe, Garonne, Thames, Rhine and the Rhone. This
facilitated the early development of commerce within Europe
and with the rest of the world.
100+
95-99
90-94
85-89
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
0%
2%
4%
North American continent.
Additionally, the United States
has many other river systems, including the most important
Mississippi River and its associated rivers (the Ohio and
Missouri being the most important tributaries), as well as
many smaller river systems including the Chesapeake/
Potomac/Susquehanna, Delaware, Hudson and Columbia
rivers. The United States also invested early in additional
infrastructure to connect these river systems, including the
Erie Canal, which links the Hudson with the Great Lakes; the
Delaware Canal which links the Chesapeake system with the
Delaware River; the canal that links Chicago and the Great
Lakes to the Mississippi, as well as the improvements made by
the Tennessee Valley Authority in the South. Lastly, the United
States also has the intercostal waterway along the Gulf Coast
and the Eastern Seaboard and numerous deep water ports on
all three coasts.
6%
8%
Source: US Census Bureau, International Database
Developing a capital surplus that would allow Africans to
import food has also eluded most of the countries on the
continent.
Often overlooked as a developmental issue,
access to waterborne transportation is crucial to the
accumulation of capital. The reason is simple. Waterborne
transportation is vastly more energy efficient and less costly
than any other form transport including rail, which itself is
more efficient than moving goods by road or air.
While many people may like to attribute the prosperity of
the United States and Western Europe to their democratic
political systems and market-based economies, they overlook
the importance of abundant arable farmland, river systems
and deep water ports.
The United States and Canada, for
example, share the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway
which allow for deep water ports like Chicago, Cleveland,
Detroit, Duluth, Montreal and Toronto to exist deep within the
Africa is much more challenged in this regard. It has three
major rivers, namely the Congo, the Niger and the Nile but
none of which are fully navigable. The Congo River, which
is the largest as measured by the volume of water flow,
runs into rapids between Kinshasa and Brazzaville and the
Atlantic Ocean.
Moreover, like the Amazon in Brazil, it flows
largely through jungles. The jungle limits the agricultural
productivity of the land near the river while the rapids
between Kinshasa/Brazzaville (the two large cities on the
river and the respective capitals of the two Congos) and the
ocean limit the potential for international commerce. The
Niger River is broad and sandy and not especially navigable.
Meanwhile, the Nile runs into a series of rapids (cataracts)
and is damned at Aswan, limiting its transportation value.
Lastly, while Africa does have some deep water ports (Cape
Town, Dakar, Lagos, Luanda, Mombasa), their numbers are
relatively small compared to the continent’s vast coastline,
the length of which far exceeds that of the United States or
Western Europe.
If Africa is to develop to its potential, it will need to improve
its infrastructure by, for example, constructing canals that
bypass rapids, dredging rivers to make them more navigable,
improve port facilities and invest in rail transportation,
which is the next best form of moving goods from a cost
perspective.
None of these will be easy given Africa’s other
major issue: political fragmentation.
4
. European colonization and its aftermath was a mess. During
the 19th Century, European powers (Belgium, France,
Germany, Great Britain and Portugal with occasional
participation from Italy and Spain) carved up the continent
with little respect for existing tribal or political boundaries.
As such, when decolonization came during the 1950s, 1960s
and 1970s, many of the new “nations” had boundaries that
cut across ethnic lines, contributing to the challenges of
governance. Moreover, unlike the United States and Canada
where two friendly governments administer vast areas,
Africa is quite fractious with 55-57 governments, making
policy coordination and infrastructure development difficult.
As such, while Africa has enormous potential to increase its
per capita food consumption, the fractured nature of Africa’s
political system will make achieving this a challenge. Even so,
its young demographics make it the single-most promising
export market for farmers in the rest of the world over the
next quarter century.
Another unusual feature of India’s diet is its grain breakdown.
India consumes a great deal of rice and wheat but almost
no corn (Figure 10).
While grain consumption per capita
tends to stagnate as countries grow wealthier, total
Indian grain consumption should be expected to grow by
another 30% over the next 25 years, in line with expected
population growth. India represents an opportunity for corn
exporters to introduce their crop into India’s diet as well as
an opportunity for rice and wheat exporters to supplement
India’s domestic supply, which might not be able to keep
pace with population growth. The greatest opportunity for
growth, however, might be for vegetable oils like palm and
soybean, crops that people typically consume more of as
they grow wealthier.
India is also a great opportunity for
those raising pulses like peas, chickpeas and lentils.
Figure 8: India’s unusual, nearly meat-free diet
India: Calorie Consumption By Source
3500
India
Compared to most of the world, India has an unusual
diet: Indians eat almost no meat (Figure 8). That said, per
capita meat consumption has been growing by about 21%
since 1991. This isn’t as fast as the growth in per person
consumption of produce (+74%), dairy and eggs (+50%), and
vegetable oil (+32%) (Figure 9).
Compounding these gains
with India’s population growth has produced some truly
stellar gains in total calorie consumption.
Average Daily Calories Per Capita
3000
2500
Other
Sugar
Veg. Oil
Meat
2000
Dairy & Egg
1500
Produce
1000
Grain
2011
2010
2009
2007
2008
2005
2006
2003
2004
2001
2002
1999
2000
1997
1998
1995
1996
1993
1994
1991
0
1992
500
1990
After Africa, the next most promising potential export
market for the world’s famers is India. India’s green
revolution has allowed it to meet the needs of its
population with mostly domestic production –an amazing
accomplishment given the scale of population growth:
from 450 million in 1961 to over 1.1 billion today.
India’s
population will likely grow another 30% or so between now
and 2040. Moreover, India may be hitting the limits of its
potential growth in domestic food production –the country
is crowded and arable land is already heavily used. As such,
we would not be surprised with India buying increasingly
large amounts of food from the world market –potentially
great news for farmers in Europe and the Americas.
What is
also promising about India is its relatively low calorie count
per person. This means that not only will population growth
likely boost food consumption, but there is also great
potential for increased per capita consumption. Like Africa,
India holds out the possibility of being a perfect storm of
increased food demand.
Source: FAO Stat, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012
Figure 9:
India: % Change in Per Capita and Total
Consumption by Category 1990-2011
160.0%
146.1%
140.0%
112.7%
120.0%
100.0%
87.8%
73.6%
80.0%
60.0%
71.3%
70.9%
41.5%
32.4%
40.0%
20.8%
20.5%
20.0%
0.0%
-20.0%
58.3%
55.0%
50.0%
11.7%
9.4%
-0.2%
Grain
Produce
Dairy & Eggs
Meat
Vegetable Oil
Sugar
Other
Total
Source: FAO STAT, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012, US Census Bureau
& CME Group Economics Research Calculations
5
.
Figure 10:
Figure 12:
Japan: Age and Sex Structure 1990
India Grain Consumption by Source
1800
Male Population
Female Population
1400
100+
95-99
90-94
85-89
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4
Other
Maize
1200
Wheat
1000
800
600
400
Rice
200
China: The Growth Story Is Over
China has been the dream country for commodity exporters.
Over the past quarter century, the Chinese economy has
been an almost continual source of increased demand for
energy, metals and agricultural goods. At least in so far
as agricultural goods are concerned, that story is about
to end, for one reason: demographics. In 2015, China’s
demographics look almost identical to Japan’s circa 1990
(Figures 11 & 12). Despite the end to the one-child policy,
China’s population will probably not grow by much.
China: Age and Sex Structure 2015
3%
4%
5%
Average Daily Calories Per Capita
Grain
2011
2010
2009
2007
2008
2005
2006
2003
2004
2001
2002
500
1999
5%
1997
4%
1000
1998
3%
Dairy &
Egg
Produce
1995
2%
Meat
1500
1996
1%
Sugar &
Fat
1993
0%
Other
2000
0
Source: US Census Bureau, International Database
2%
2500
1994
0%
1%
3000
1991
1%
0%
Japan Calorie Consumption By Source
1992
2%
0%
3500
1990
3%
1%
During the past twenty years as Japan’s population aged,
its economic growth stalled and its per person calorie
count declined.
China in 2015 is a much different entity
than Japan was in 1990, but in addition to the deep and
unyielding demographic facts, there are other superficial
similarities. Japan in 1990 had a bursting debt bubble, with
an overleveraged private sector and banking system. Things
in China aren’t as dramatic in 2015 as they were in Japan in
1990.
Nevertheless, what happened in Japan offers us at least
some insight as to China’s future (Figures 13, 14, 15 and 16).
Female Population
100+
95-99
90-94
85-89
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4
4%
2%
Figure 13: China’s future? Japan’s per capita calorie
consumption falls
Figure 11:
5%
3%
Source: US Census Bureau, International Database
Source: FAO STAT, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012
Male Population
4%
2011
2010
2009
2007
2008
2005
2006
2003
2004
2001
2002
1999
2000
1997
1998
1995
1996
1993
1994
1991
1992
5%
1990
0
2000
Average Daily Calories Per Capita
1600
Source: FAO Stat, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012
6
. Figure 14: China’s future? Japan’s per capita and
overall calorie consumption falls
Figure 16: China’s growth has been a dream for
farmers but the dream might be about to end
Japan: % Change in Per Capita and Total
Consumption by Category 1990-2011
China: % Change in Per Capita and Total
Consumption by Category 1990-2011
4.0%
300.0%
1.9%
2.0%
247.1%
250.0%
0.0%
158.7%
150.0%
-4.0%
-6.0%
-4.9%
-5.4%
-6.7%
-8.0%
-9.6%
-9.7%
-7.8%
Grain
94.9%
84.0%
-50.0%
Dairy & Eggs
Meat
Sugar & Fat
Other
-1.4%
Grain
Total
Source: FAO STAT, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012, US Census Bureau
& CME Group Economics Research Calculations
42.9%
22.8%
14.7%
0.0%
-13.1%
Produce
67.5%
40.9%
50.0%
-10.4%
-12.5%
-14.0%
100.0%
4.2%
-10.2%
-10.3%
-12.0%
122.3%
114.1%
64.0%
-7.4%
-8.3%
-10.0%
Produce
Dairy & Eggs
Meat
Vegetable Oil
Sugar
Other
Total
Source: FAO STAT, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012, US Census Bureau
& CME Group Economics Research Calculations
Figure 15: China eats about as many calories per
person today as Japan did in 1990
China: Calorie Consumption By Source
3500
Other
Sugar
Veg. Oil
3000
Average Daily Calories Per Capita
198.2%
200.0%
-1.2%
-2.0%
2500
Meat
Dairy &
Egg
2000
Happily for farmers everywhere, Japan is not the only model
for China’s future. Germany offers another perspective. Like
Japan, Germany has an aging population that will likely be
in outright decline between now and 2040 (Figure 17).
The
demographics are a bit different. Germany has a massive
baby boomer generation that is getting ready to retire – far
larger than in Japan or China relative to the size of its
population. That baby boomer generation ate healthily for
the past 25 years (or at least increased its per capita calorie
consumption in any case) (Figures 18 and 19).
Produce
1500
Figure 17:
1000
Grain
Germany: Age and Sex Structure 2015
500
Female Population
100+
95-99
90-94
85-89
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4
2011
2010
2009
2007
2008
2005
2006
2003
2004
2001
2002
1999
2000
1997
1998
1995
1996
1993
1994
1991
1992
1990
Male Population
0
Source: FAO Stat, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
Source: US Census Bureau, International Database
7
.
Figure 18:
Germany: % Change in Per Capita and Total
Consumption by Category 1990-2011
37.5%
33.9%
40.0%
30.0%
25.5%
22.3%
20.0%
11.3%
8.4%
10.0%
1.5%
4.2%
0.0%
-10.0%
-11.7%
-20.0%
Grain
-8.4%
-10.7%
-9.4%
Produce
Dairy & Eggs
Meat
-9.4%
Sugar & Fat
-7.0%
Other
Total
If China was to grow its calorie consumption to German levels
by 2040, it would mean an additional 15% growth in total
food demand even if population growth is zero. On the other
hand, if it turns out like Japan, that would mean about an 8%
total decline. Which route China follows matters to farmers
everywhere. The Japan path would mean about a 2% decline
in world food demand, all else being equal.
The German
path would translate into an about 3-4% increase in world
food consumption. The bad news for farmers is that China’s
demographics resemble Japan in 1990 more closely than they
do Germany’s from the same period. As for Germany, its per
capita food consumption is likely to decline as baby boomers,
born between 1955 and 1970 (a bit later than the U.S.
wave)
get set to retire.
This is why farmers around the world should set their sights
on pleasing potential new customers in Africa and India.
China can no longer be relied on to increase demand over the
long term. Moreover, China is beset by a number of
short-to-intermediate term woes, including high levels of
private sector debt and an overvalued currency that might
also stall growth in food demand in the near term.
Source: FAO STAT, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012, US Census Bureau
& CME Group Economics Research Calculations
Figure 19:
Germany: Calorie Consumption By Source
4000
3500
Other
3000
Sugar &
Fat
2500
Meat
2000
Dairy &
Egg
1500
1000
Produce
500
Grain
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
20
07
20
08
20
09
20
10
20
11
0
Source: FAO STAT, National Geographic, What the World Eats, 2012
8
. .