Overseas interest in ag ‘very strong’

Agribusiness expert David Williams said a concentration on food security from southeast Asia nations will see investors looking for food assets in Australia.

Interest in Australian agriculture from overseas investors is “very strong”, according to agribusiness expert David Williams.

Mr Williams, who has overseen some of Australia’s biggest agribusiness deals, told The Weekly Times that there’s been a “real concentration” on food security out of southeast Asia in the past six months.

“Even in places like Singapore, they’re near panic stations in terms of getting access to food.

So we’ve got a lot of people from China and southeast Asia looking for food assets, and I think we’re going to see a lot of people wanting to take food out of the country,” he said.

“I think China still has the deepest pockets, but I think we’re going to see a lot of money coming out of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam and Indonesia in particular.”

David Williams, managing director of Kidder Williams. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Mr Williams said strong interest was still coming from North America, from Ivy League universities and North American superfunds, and that there were three main reasons behind the interest.

“Number one, the government and economic security (Australia provides). Secondly, Australian culture is the same (as theirs), and thirdly, like our superfunds, they’ve got money coming in every day, so where are you going to put it? They want a safe, non-volatile place to put it, and that’s land,” he said.

After dairy processor Fonterra announced it was exploring options to divest its Australian operations, Mr Williams said he’s been told Fonterra has been approached by southeast Asian businesses for potential acquisitions.

“Don’t be surprised if a dairy or food company comes out of southeast Asia at least to buy those regional assets, but maybe the whole lot.”

Australian Fresh Produce Alliance chair Gavin Scurr. Picture: Lachie Millard

Turning to Australia’s interest in overseas markets, Australian Fresh Produce Alliance chair Gavin Scurr said there’s been a lot of work going into improving access to new and existing international export markets.

“It’s a slow dance, and we understand that, however from an industry perspective there has been significant progress being made in those areas,” he said.

“It’s something that is critical for the ongoing success of our industry in Australia. While the Australian population is growing nicely, we need access to more mouths.”

The Australian Ag Podcast is sponsored by Nutrien Ag Solutions and you can listen to this week’s full episode at theweeklytimes.com.au.