Chinese Buying Our Farms

[d2dave]

I know this is not new but I was listening to the ABC on the wireless today.

Between 12.00 and 1.00 pm they have what is called the "Country Hour"

They were interviewing a Chinese person, using an interpreter, who has for the last seven months being here purchasing dairy farms for a big consortium back in China.

Although China does have a big dairy industry she was saying how Australian milk is much sought after in China.

What is going to happen to our food supply security if this continues unabated is it appears to be happening.

Not just dairy but also other farms are being bought by the Chinese.

The Chinese are buying these farms to help shore up their food supplies for the future, they aren't going to be selling produce to us if they need it.

What happens in many years time when our population is twice what it is now and we don't have enough farms left to feed ourselves?

Why is this being allowed to happen?

[LR1979]

I'm not surprised...After several milk scandals, many Chinese residents are buying imported milk/ dairy. They don't trust their dairy manufacturers any more. My friend told me that the milk in China can last 6 months...

[uninformed]

IMO this is a bad JOKE that the cowardly Australian government (both sides) have been doing for years... selling our souls on many levels.

Can you imagine trying to by a farm in china? there would be so many conditions, all profiting china, it wouldnt be funny. And I say good on them for protecting themselves in every aspect of business...

Shame the Aus Gov think us a poor little inadeqaute country that needs everyones help no matter the cost...

kinda of reminds you of the whole indiginous problem doest it....

[Ean Austral]

1 politician shuts down the northern live cattle trade, farmers have no income so banks want their money, no Aussies will buy it because of **** weak politicians who are to interested in keeping the majority of public opinion on their side, so they get sold to foreign investors.

To be honest we got no one but ourselves to blame. IMHO of course.

Cheers Ean

[snowbound]

Come to a land auction for new housing in Canberra, 90% of the buyers are Chinese! Probably they are buys in farms to feed themselves, but the chances are the food will stay in Australia! One thing is for sure, they can buy all the land they like, but they can't take it away! Better they buy it than invade and take it! :wasntme:

[Discomark]

Same thing is happening in Africa and the Chinese are buying up a lot of the arable land. They are smart and know that arable land will be more scarce in years to come.
Agricultural development and (http://www.consultancyafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=925%3Aagricultural-development-and-land-grabs-the-chinese-presence-in-the-african-agricultural-sector&catid=58%3Aasia-dimension-discussion-papers&Itemid=264)

[PhilipA]

I have a slightly different view.
In Australia there are very few areas of farming that give a decent rate of return to a family , let alone a corporate entity that relies on employed managers.
These are mainly Cotton and Beef.

Most other areas such as wheat, dairying, horticulture rely on families really working for peanuts who are asset rich and income poor.

In my experience many if not most Chinese buys of agriculural land are way above market ( they are skinned) and they never make a profit.

Now this can go on for a long time but eventually there has to be a reckoning. The parent in China eventually decides they cannot take the losses any longer or maybe Beijing steps in and cleans up the corruption.

The Chinese find it hard to understnd a country where there are no agricultural subsidies and underestimate the effort necessary for success.

I can recall when I spoke to 300 visiting Chinese agricultural groups ten years ago, that they were at the point of setting up coops in China from the State run enterprises. Australia did this 100 years ago, and now they are nearly all disbanded as management is always a problem in a competitive unregulated market.
In this case it instructive to see how Clive Palmer skinned them. There are lots of Clive Palmers out there.

Regards Philip A

[EastFreo]

Big problem is that Australian consumers aren't prepared to pay and for some reason it seems the farmer always gets squeezed.

Look at what the farmer gets per litre of milk or kilo of beef. Labour costs have rocketed up as well as machinery, fertilisers etc.

I don't like the fact the Chinese (as well as American superannuation companies here in WA) are buying up our land but you can't blame people selling out to them.

[CraigE]

Big problem is that Australian consumers aren't prepared to pay and for some reason it seems the farmer always gets squeezed.

Look at what the farmer gets per litre of milk or kilo of beef. Labour costs have rocketed up as well as machinery, fertilisers etc.

I don't like the fact the Chinese (as well as American superannuation companies here in WA) are buying up our land but you can't blame people selling out to them.

Not so much the consumer is not prepared to pay, but the big two are not prrpared to pay as the are profit driven. Say Dairy Farmers are paid 18c per litre for milk, processed and then on sold to Coles/Woolies who sell it for $1 a litre. Profit has to be made by farmer, processor, wholesaler and retailer. Too Many middle men making their share. What consumers see is a huge mark up by the retailer which sometimes is true but not always.

[mools]

We're selling the agricultural land to fund an addiction to cheap food and fund a duopoly. The Chinese buyers put a different value on their asset - future gain. It means little to take a short term loss for a larger long term gain.

That's how I see the situation.

Ian.

[BMKal]

Couldn't be all about the mighty dollar could it ................ :o

A litre of Australian milk is selling for $9 in China. ;)

Norco corners fresh milk niche in China (http://www.afr.com/p/national/norco_corners_fresh_milk_niche_in_tQEKvPGH44KWafh8 ZbUaDN)

[frantic]

We're selling the agricultural land to fund an addiction to cheap food and fund a duopoly. The Chinese buyers put a different value on their asset - future gain. It means little to take a short term loss for a larger long term gain.

That's how I see the situation.

Ian.

Yup, agree.
They are doing it in most industries they target and with land the old real estate saying applies," their not making any more of it!"
They have realised well before our govt that the world is not only getting more people but with themselves and India getting a richer middle class that are in the 100's of millions each, sources for high quality food are going to be harder to come by. Combine this with the mass pollution of their own land along with our political stability compared to a lot of other agricultural rich countries and we become a perfect place to not just long term invest in farm land , but stash money into residential as well.
A family member is friends with an estate agent from the north side of Sydney, they had taken a Chinese investor around to 35 properties between chatswood and st Ives 1,4-2 million each. They where getting sick of no decision so said "have you decided yet" when asked to view another. Their response was I don't like these 5 but will take the other 30:o

[Barefoot Dave]

connected?
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-millionaires-plan-leave-droves-181502804.html

[bob10]

Now the Chinese are set to buy wineries in the Barossa. Some interesting discussion here, Bob


What's the future for Australian food? - The Future of Food - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-25/future-of-food-uncertain/4537788)






Foreign investment in Australia's food crops - The Future of Food - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-19/foreign-investment-in-australias-food-crops/4527244)




Food security an inescapable challenge for the future - The Future of Food - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-17/food-security-an-inescapable-challenge-for-the-future/4523452)




The future of water in Australia - The Future of Food - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-18/the-future-of-water-in-australia/4525246)

[Vanderz]

Its scary yes. But it will take 1 flick of the law to farmers sending produce overseas or massive taxes on exports (that will fund farms for aussie consumption) to change it all.

One thing u can be certain on is that the government will continue to feed us so we can pay taxes. All these parental schemes and baby bonuses arent because they are nice people.

They will get their money back and then some in the end.

What china does in retaliation is anyones guess

Sent from my GT-I9300 using AULRO mobile app

[PhilipA]

Australia always have had foreign investment in our farms.

A few that come to mind are Lord Vestey who boasted that he never paid tax anywhere.
King Ranch used to own the biggest cattle station in Australia
A USA company has the biggest cotton farms around Moree.
Cargill owns the ginneries.
Stahmann farms is the biggest pecan grower in Australia
The biggest olive groves in South Australia are a JV with a Spanish company.
Its just that the investment is now coming from China.
Regards Philip A

[rangietragic]

Any country that we cannot buy land in should not be able to buy ours:mad:The reason fertile land is getting scarse is because we keep growing houses on it instead of food:(

[bob10]

Australia always have had foreign investment in our farms.

A few that come to mind are Lord Vestey who boasted that he never paid tax anywhere.
King Ranch used to own the biggest cattle station in Australia
A USA company has the biggest cotton farms around Moree.
Cargill owns the ginneries.
Stahmann farms is the biggest pecan grower in Australia
The biggest olive groves in South Australia are a JV with a Spanish company.
Its just that the investment is now coming from China.
Regards Philip A


Not just china. Israel as well. They have invested in property, & have one of the largest cattle stations in the Territory. Foreign investment is explained here, Bob


Foreign investment in Australia's food crops - The Future of Food - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-19/foreign-investment-in-australias-food-crops/4527244)

[d2dave]

Probably they are buys in farms to feed themselves, but the chances are the food will stay in Australia!

Do you really think the food will stay here when the time comes that they can't feed themselves? I doubt it.

[bee utey]

The trouble is that Australians have been seduced by decades of cheap high quality food. Land taxes and production costs have risen, at the same time the big two supermarket chains have driven down wholesale prices. This makes farming in Australia for Australian consumption unprofitable. The result is that WE import much of the food we eat and the best market for our locally grown produce is export. It is quite hard to sell working farms to local investors for good prices so the Chinese get the bargains. I know quite a number of older farmers that are holding on to their properties to the bitter end as their children have no interest. They will sell to anyone who offers a good price when they finally have to, regardless of where the customer comes from. Australians seem to prefer to invest in mining and the stock market. So long as there's easy money to be made from digging dirt we'll get our fresh fruit flown in from South America and the Chinese will sell what they grow here at home. C'est la vie.

[bob10]

If you have the money, look for productive land, & invest. Bob

[PhilipA]

The result is that WE import much of the food we eat and the best market for
our locally grown produce is export.

Mate this is a Ahem rather large overstatement.
Just go to the Supermarket and look , 90 something percent of fruit and veg is from Australia.
Where you see imported stuff this is usually counter seasonal, and that has been the largest growth in International food trade because people want to buy say oranges all year round.
This benefits Australia greatly as we export Navel oranges to the USA, Japan and others and the USA exports Navel oranges to us in our off season.
There is very little from the Southern Hemishere.

Our apple growers kept NZ apples out for decades on spurious grounds but the sky doesn't seem to have fallen now they are allowed in. Maybe it will force the NSW Coop to become better at marketing.
Regards Philip A

[ramblingboy42]

whenever someone makes this type of statement I usually google it....
http://www.google.com.au/url'sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CEsQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brokernews.com.au%2Fnews%2Fbr eaking-news%2Fopinion-chinese-investors-taking-over-australian-property-market--fact-or-fearmongering-181254.aspx&ei=HFIaVLy1L8re8AWK6YDYDQ&usg=AFQjCNFULYsK8Esowe4YMuGaDKiM3PoitA&sig2=0qYiKscHQ_G_p9PkXNYbxw&bvm=bv.75097201,d.dGc

[uninformed]

whenever someone makes this type of statement I usually google it....
http://www.google.com.au/url'sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CEsQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brokernews.com.au%2Fnews%2Fbr eaking-news%2Fopinion-chinese-investors-taking-over-australian-property-market--fact-or-fearmongering-181254.aspx&ei=HFIaVLy1L8re8AWK6YDYDQ&usg=AFQjCNFULYsK8Esowe4YMuGaDKiM3PoitA&sig2=0qYiKscHQ_G_p9PkXNYbxw&bvm=bv.75097201,d.dGc

Is that a "media" site, if so who owns it and could their be any bias from them?

[ramblingboy42]

couldn't you see the banner? it's pretty clear to me

I don't know why there would be any bias in a report of that nature.....theres nothing to gain

[PhilipA]

[QUOTE]

I don't know why there would be any bias in a report of
that nature.....theres nothing to gain
[/QUOTE
I hope you are joking Ramblingboy

You think that Mortgage Brokers are neutral regarding offshore sales?

Every extra sale is more commission for the Mortgage broker who arranges a mortgage, and the higher the price the more the commission and "trail".
Of course NO mortgage broker has EVER accepted an application from someone who is sidestepping the foreign investment laws .
NEEEEEEIIIIGH ( that is a horse laugh)

Regards Philip A