Australian Liberal senator Bill Heffernan has described as "bullshit" his party's proposed policy for more scrutiny of overseas companies buying into Australian agriculture because it ignored the real threat posed by foreign government-owned funds buying up farmland.
The Australian Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce is pushing for even tougher restrictions on foreign ownership of farmland and agribusinesses than those advocated by his party, fuelling Liberal anger at Tony Abbott's failure to rein in National Party ''freelancing'' on sensitive economic issues.
Australian farmers have demanded an overhaul of foreign investment rules ahead of any attempt to harness Asian capital to boost the nation's food production.
State-owned food giant COFCO Corp is likely to pursue more overseas acquisitions of sugar companies, its Chairman Ning Gaoning said on the sidelines of the ongoing National People's Congress in Beijing Thursday.
Senator Bill Heffernan and the managing director of the Australian Agricultural Company David Farley join The Business to discuss overseas investment in Australia.
The 500,000-hectare station, located about 150 kilometres south-west of the Gulf of Carpentaria, is believed to have sold for about $33 million, and included about 28,000 head of mixed cattle in the contract.
Australian business council wants Qatar to invest more in food production in Australia, similar to what Qatar's Hassad Foods is pursuing.
Foreign companies from Korea, Qatar, US, UK and China are "secretly" buying up large chunks of NSW farmland by establishing shelf companies, trust funds, and extended settlements to avoid scrutiny.
A hedge fund run by an arm of the world's largest agriculture company, Cargill, has injected almost $40 million into a local company which buys Australian rural property.
Half of Gippsland's farmland could be foreign owned in a decade if current interest in the region continues on the same trajectory, two industry leaders have predicted.
On his farm at Coleambally, NSW, John Ward admits he is feeling emotional about how foreign investment into Australian agricultural land has been handled.
An influx of foreign funds seeking Australian farmland has pushed lawmakers to consider legislation that would increase scrutiny of overseas purchases after foreign ownership of land almost doubled since 1984.
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Italy supports sustainable agriculture projects in Ghana
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