ABSTRACT
Pakistan, Iran, and Egypt have several things in common and can be discussed as a group. Each faces massive increases in population by 2030, with Egypt projected to more than double, Pakistan to nearly triple, and Iran to more than triple. Egypt has one of the smallest potentials for increasing production, both because its yields are already high by international standards and because water supply limits the expansion of its cultivated area. For Mexico, which is facing severe land and water constraints on agricultural growth, the people assume production will increase 40 percent. Projections for Brazil are perhaps the most difficult to make. At current world prices, Brazil is importing all three grains: wheat, rice, and corn. In sum, during the next 40 years grain consumption in the group of nine more than doubles, climbing to 420 million tons, a reflection of the projected growth in population.
