Some put that figure higher but on balance I think that's not a bad guess at this stage,' he said. But if China's 1.2 billion consumers raise their grain consumption level to just half that of the average American, their imports would be nearly double current world grain exports. Raising beer consumption by just 3 bottles per adult would take the equivalent of Norway's entire grain harvest.
People use more vegetable oil as their incomes rise.
The additional eggs needed will require an additional 24 million tons of grain, equal to the total exports of Canada, the second largest exporter of grain. To feed its 1.2 billion people, China may soon have to import so much grain that this action could trigger unprecedented rises in world food prices. When Japan, a nation of just 125 million, began to import food, world grain markets rejoiced. Analysts foresaw that the recent four year doubling of income for China's 1.2 billion consumers would increase food demand, especially for meat, eggs, and beer. But these analysts assumed that food production would rise to meet those demands.