Estamos atravesando algunos de los cambios culturales más importantes que jamás haya visto el mundo. La primavera árabe no solo está remodelando el panorama político en algunas de las regiones más volátiles del mundo, sino que los cambios sociales que están ocurriendo allí y en otras economías emergentes de todo el mundo están remodelando la forma en que las personas trabajan, interactúan y compran bienes y servicios.
Mass demonstrations in India pose the biggest threat to Monmohan Singh since he took office. In China, one of the largest public demonstrations since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests took place in August, demonstrating the middle class’ willingness to confront governments and voice frustrations with industries.
The clout currently enjoyed by the middle class in emerging economies could be due to their rising numbers. Almost 2 billion people are considered middle class in developing Asia. Almost 90% of Latin America is now considered middle class, and at least one-third of Africa’s 1 million people have middle incomes, although many of these metrics include those just out of poverty, many of whom live on $2 to $20 per day.
According to the World Bank’s definition of middle class — those earning between $10 to $20 per day — the world’s middle earners are likely to grow from 430 million in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2030; China and India will account for two-thirds of the expansion.
Ingreso disponible
El aumento del activismo político, las huelgas laborales y las manifestaciones públicas han llegado a representar la confianza que tiene la clase media en las elecciones abiertas, la transparencia política y la solvencia financiera.
The rise in affluence of these populations is putting an immediate and significant strain on food, which is typically the first lifestyle upgrade for people with disposable incomes. China’s surging disposable income, now ranked 28th in the world in front of Romania and Philippines, is driving well-documented increases in food imports. These imports include staples like soybeans, cooking oils and rice, but increasingly they include high-value vegetables.
India’s overall rank lags behind other emerging economies because its sheer number of lower classes drag down the national average. But its middle class is enjoying affluence like never before. Our cover story in this issue outlines the double-digit economic growth in India, which is the second-fastest growing economy in the world. Crop protection is growing even faster, somewhere around 15% per year, which is projected to sustain itself for the next five years.
Much of India’s crop protection prosperity resides in the $2 billion domestic market, which is expected to double in the next five years. That means that the most progressive Indian companies will double their revenues as well, creating dozens of companies with revenues in the hundreds of millions. These companies will be looking beyond their domestic borders as well, creating new competition for everything from lower cost technical-grade active substance to sophisticated formulations that rival the best brands on the market.
Esta combinación de activos de bajo costo y fabricación de mejor calidad podría ayudar a los fabricantes indios a apoderarse de la participación de mercado global de otros centros de fabricación, específicamente China, donde los crecientes costos de mano de obra y materias primas están erosionando algunos de los márgenes disfrutados allí.
The world’s middle class is being reshaped in our generation, and it is an exciting time to be part of an industry that is helping to feed it. As I write this column on a plane to Thailand, where disposable income ranks 26th in the world, it is becoming clear that some of the world’s greatest business opportunities reside in these emerging markets, buoyed by the ongoing perseverance of the booming bourgeoisie.