According to the World Bank, the five largest emerging markets (EMS) are China, India, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia. The emerging countries have restructured their economies along market–oriented lines and in the process have offered a wealth of opportunities in trade, technology transfers, and foreign direct investment. Nonetheless, their future role in global trade and growth potentials remain uncertain.

Consumer demand in China has followed a path of rising animal protein consumption common among emerging countries, but prices shape both consumption habits and production. The world food system can accommodate China’s changing diet if producers and consumers receive the right market signals.

Indonesia’s agriculture is significant in several world markets and continues to employ large numbers of the population, but is facing numerous difficult choices. Lagging productivity, conflicts across high farm prices, politics, and poverty, and environmental challenges combine to give reason for a reform of policies in this sector.

India’s agricultural challenges are shifting from ensuring adequate wheat and rice supplies to improving food grain management, enhancing the safety net for the poor, and managing rapid agricultural diversification. Key policy challenges include expanding the role of the private sector and linking small farmers with increasingly dynamic and diverse markets.

Russia’s importance in world agricultural markets has increased considerably during the 2000s. On the demand side, agricultural imports have soared to $33 billion in 2008, making Russia the second largest agricultural importer among emerging markets, after China. On the supply side, Russia has become a large grain exporter.

Brazil is facing rapid socioeconomic shifts leading to higher demand for all foods and a more diversified diet. The challenge for Brazil’s farm sector is to sustain productivity growth to meet increasing domestic demand and, at the same time, maintain its position as a major supplier of agricultural commodities to world markets.