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CME director sees demand potential in Africa

The executive director of the CME Group sees U.S. ag export potential in Africa.

Erik Norland says the continent is often overlooked for its food demand.

“Africa has a billion people currently, (and) the population is expected to grow by 70 percent over the next 25 years to 1.7 billion people.  That would mean collectively the 57 or so nations of Africa will have more people than either China or India.”

The per-person calorie consumption in Africa is currently very low, but Norland says it could potentially double in the future.

And he tells Brownfield their economy has been strengthening.

“Currently (Africa) is only three and a half percent of the world’s economy, but they’ve been growing very strongly in the past decade because of increased commodity prices.  But now that commodity prices are falling, we think the growth rates will, at least in the short-term, fall off quite substantially in Africa.”

Norland says although short-term demand potential is limited, Africa shows tremendous long-term potential.