That compares with 55 per cent in China, and just 30 per cent in other emerging markets such as India. This trend toward urbanization is likely to continue. With it will come growing demand for goods linked to household consumption – particularly agricultural products. Consider the hundreds of millions of people who are climbing the income scale in India and China.
Their changing diet implies much more than just stronger demand for traditional protein sources. It also implies demand for inputs such as fertilizer, animal feed, fish feed, oilseeds and specialty crops such as lentils and chickpeas. Indeed, the latest traffic figures from Port Metro Vancouver show sharp growth in shipments of wheat and specialty crops, and solid gains in meat, poultry and potash.