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.
The same is true of the sharp correction that followed in late-2008, as well as the recent rebound. 5 These three episodes mirrored the phenomenal rise, sudden collapse, and equally sharp recovery in global growth over the period.