China's interest in agriculture growing

CHINA has shown increased interest in Australian agriculture since a spike in global food prices in late 2007, a new report shows.

But the rising Asian giant's investment in Australia remains at modest levels.

The Foreign Investment and Australian Agriculture report released today found only one per cent of Australia's 135,648 agricultural businesses are wholly or partly foreign owned, and 11.3 per cent of agricultural land (44 million hectares) is similarly held.

While specific data on landholdings and business interests was limited, the report said there was anecdotal evidence Chinese investors were showing "increased interest in investing in Australian agriculture since the rise in global food prices in late 2007".

Read More 

Herald Sun