Blas, Meyer. Cargill finds demand for processed food in emeerging markets stable

The appetite of emerging markets for processed food, meat and dairy products had confounded fears of a big drop in demand in the wake of the financial crisis, said Cargill, the big US agribusiness...

In previous episodes of economic turmoil, people in emerging markets had returned to traditional staple grains.

Cargill is at the centre of global agricultural flows and its business relationships with leading food companies, ranging from Nestlé to Kraft, allow it to anticipate changes in consumption.

"If you just looked across the shopping basket in those countries where their gross domestic product is $3,000 to $10,000 a year . . . the diet was remarkably resilient this time, so we start from a better base than we did before," he said.