What's going on around the world in agribusiness?

Every month, we take a global snapshot of the state of the agribusiness sector. In May, international investment has certainly been a major trend, driven by new opportunities across every continent. 

Among the key events we followed in May are:

• Sensitivities around foreign ownership of farmland.We discuss rising curbs on ownership in CEE and the Australian Government’s announcement that the US$370m sale of Kidman to Chinese Pengxing is ‘against Australia’s national interest’.
• Asian investment pouring into Russia and CEE agriculture. From Vietnamese dairy company TH Group‘s plans to invest US$2.7bn in Moscow production, to multiple Chinese investments in Kazakhstan’s agriculture sector, we highlight a torrent of investment.
• Significant investment across Africa. We highlight Government incentives and inward investment across the region.
• Ongoing M&A. In particular, recent news has been dominated by Monsanto’s announcement that it has received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Bayer AG.
• Food Trust an ongoing issue. In the US we highlight the recall by CRF Frozen Foods of 360 products sold under 40 brands over the last two years. We also note new partnerships emerging such as Target, MIT’s MediaLab and IDEO joining forces to bring more transparency to consumers around what they’re eating.

The snapshot gives you a high-level overview of these global trends. If you would like to learn more, please get in touch with our team of agribusiness experts.