Second, current production processes in the EMEs are very resource intensive, particularly with regard to their energy requirements. Third, rising disposable incomes and a growing middle class in the EMEs have added an important consumption element to the mix, through increased demand for food and a broader range of energy-using household products.
Bringing things a little closer to home, high demand for food in EMEs has contributed importantly to the demand for potash. Growing demand in both the EMEs and advanced economies, as well as occasional supply bottlenecks, can explain most, though perhaps not all, of the upward movement in commodity prices that we observed from 2000 to mid-2008.