Australia
October 8, 2013
A new report released today by Deloitte shows that agribusiness will be one of five sectors expected to deliver an additional $250 billion to Australia’s economy over the next 20 years – a prediction welcomed by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF).
NFF President Duncan Fraser said the report shows that there is vast potential to be tapped in Australian agribusiness.
“The Deloitte report assesses Australia’s potential future boom industries on the basis of expected growth and on Australia’s competitive advantage – and agribusiness emerges as a strong likely performer for both growth and Australian advantage,” Mr Fraser said.
“This is unsurprising, given the opportunities ahead for Australian agriculture, with close to half of the world’s population living on our northern doorstep.
“As this report points out, Australian agribusiness has something most other sectors don’t: the prospect of rapid increases in global demand meeting domestic comparative advantage.
“Our agricultural sector – from farmers through the supply chain to exporters – are well placed to meet the growing demand from a booming Asian middle class, and our geographical location means the opportunity is ours for the taking.
“Of course, there are many challenges to first be overcome – as the NFF-led, industry-developed Blueprint for Australian Agriculture and now the Deloitte Positioning for Prosperity report shows.
“Ensuring our farmers and the sector can remain productive and profitable; investing in innovation, research and development and infrastructure; encouraging the next generation into agriculture; breaking down barriers to trade; and using our natural resources in a sustainable way are all fundamentally important considerations – and all must be addressed now in order to secure the future opportunity.
“Today’s report says that both business and government will have to take ‘bold steps’ to overcome these challenges. Pleasingly, the agricultural sector is already leading the way: driving forward the future of the agricultural sector, and tackling these issues head on, through the continued development of the Blueprint.
“And, with the Federal Government committing to develop an agricultural white paper, we hope that many of these issues will be addressed from a Government perspective as well,” Mr Fraser said.
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