In 2006, Britain became a net importer of oil for the first time in decades.
China is the world's third-largest net importer of oil, behind the U.S. and Japan.
Since 2007 the country has been a net importer of food, after decades of self-sufficiency.
By 2030, some have estimated that the U.S. will become a net importer.
"We are a net importer where we used to be a net exporter, " he told BBC Scotland.
On current trends the kingdom would become a net importer of oil by 2038 (unlikely though that is).
The surge in demand for animal proteins is forcing China to become a net importer of chicken and pork.
Would-be investors in Indian funds (see table) should keep in mind that, unlike China, India is a net importer.
But by 2020, India is on course to become the biggest net importer of coal, to fuel its growth.
"It could produce as much as it needs but instead it is a net importer of fish, " he said.
Once self-sufficient in oil, it has been a net importer since 1993 and today faces a widening oil deficit as demand outstrips supply.
It is perhaps symbolic that OPEC's current president, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, hails from a member country, Indonesia, that has just become a net importer of oil.
Theoretically, China could become a net importer of aluminum, even though 10 fully committed, verified expansion projects are coming in the next 18 months, Vazquez said.
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Zimbabwe, once the breadbasket of Africa, is now a net importer of food and facing acute shortages of most essentials such as fuel, electricity and medical drugs.
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Britain will become a net importer of wheat for the first time in a decade this year because of bad weather, the National Farmers' Union has said.
For its part, India will overtake the United States as the second-biggest user of coal by 2025 and will be the largest net importer of coal by 2020, the IEA says.
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The Philippines has also seen its import bill rise, as has Indonesia, which became a net importer of oil in 2003, despite being the region's only member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Speaking of cost, sometime last year the notion began to circulate that China will one day become a net importer of the rare earth minerals for which it currently provides 90% of the global supply.
Would the search for short-term profits prompt a U.S. companies to sell the United States' technological "seed-corn, " and in so doing make it likely that this country would shortly become a net importer, instead of an exporter, of derivative products?
The message Mr Achleitner preached was radical at the time in Germany: capital markets are eclipsing house banks as a source of cash and Germany is now a net importer of capital, so companies need to woo international shareholders by becoming more transparent and setting themselves tougher targets.
Malaysia will probably be a net oil importer by 2014 (gas is more abundant).
There are some ideas the country could become a net-importer of the metal.
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The United States will effectively lose a key supplier when Mexico becomes a net oil importer, which is happening much sooner than predicted.
China has been a net rice importer for several years, but sends some amounts of rice elsewhere, including to the U.S. and Hong Kong.
As a net oil exporter, Canada is severely hurt by declines in oil, while Japan, a major net oil importer, tends to benefit.
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The problem with that is that Jamaica (not picking on them, just an example), like the rest of the Caribbean, is a net energy importer.
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