Australia

UAE foreign investment in food production have so far focused on leasing Pakistan and Sudan’s agricultural land, with new prospects in Cambodian rice, Canadian wheat and Australian beef. Alongside the strategic deals at the national level, private investment has followed which should open new channels of trade, for example, Al Qudra Holding has plans to grow grain and vegetables in Vietnam and Croatia as well as Pakistan.

Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital is investing in 210,000 ha of farmland in Sudan, where it got the right to the land for 99 years.

Key areas of investment interest from pension and sovereign wealth funds in UK, Middle East, Europe and the US include agriculture land in Australia, South and North America, and throughout Europe.

The Australian almond plantations of agribusiness group Timbercorp have been sold to Singapore-based multinational food giant Olam International for $128 million.

Ray White Rural chairman Paul White said there was interest in Australian rural property from Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesian investment groups, looking to secure their food supply for the future.

Gulf states buying farmland in developing nations for food security face the risk of damaging their reputation as international investors as the deals are seen as land grabs, a Rothschild executive said yesterday.

The emergence of the farmland asset class is not without pitfalls with the provision of food always highly political and a tentative global economic recovery potentially threatened by the H1N1 flu pandemic, fund managers said.

Greg Mason, from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, says countries and regions facing 'peak water' like China, India and the Arab states are looking to solve food shortages by growing crops in places like the Ukraine and Australia.

Despite criticism for Chinese efforts to acquire large-scale farmland in Africa, China is seen continuing to aggressively pursue acquisitions in other countries. says Michael Whitehead, executive director of the food and agribusiness research and advisory unit at Rabobank International.

Saudi agricultural company Tabuk Agricultural Development Co has started preparations to invest in food production abroad, driving up its stock.

The issue of food security is getting higher on Riyadh’s priority list.

The debate over foreign investment is set to expand from the mining industry to agriculture as overseas investors pour billions of dollars into Australian rural properties considered by some to be strategic national assets.