From Sify.com (link):
High growth rates of India and China have become a problem for the Western countries. Till recently the developing countries were voluntarily selling their resources at low prices to them. For example, India was packing her water in Basmati rice, tea and rubber and exporting to Western countries at declining prices. Thus 20 percent people in the Western countries were consuming 80 percent of the world’s resources. This distribution was stable because India was herself willing to give away her resources at a cheap price in her pursuit of export-led growth.
The high growth of India and China has put a spanner in this happy situation for the Western countries. These two have started consuming resources in a big way. Christopher Flavin, president of Washington-based WorldWatch Institute tells China consumed 26 percent of global production of steel, 32 percent rice, 37 percent cotton and 47 percent cement. China is importing food grains in a big way. If domestic food grain production of India or China declines for some reason, it could drive global prices up and “the entire global community could be affected,” says Flavin.
