Australia needs to focus on providing high quality food to Asia’s growing middle class and increase exports to the region, Elders says.
Speaking at a business lunch in Melbourne yesterday, Elder’s chief Malcolm Jackman said Australia should not be aiming to feed the world but instead the agribusiness needed to turn its attention to the growing demand for food in the Asian market.
Weekly Times Now reports that while Australia was now feeding 60 million people from its produce, by 2050 it had the capacity to feed about 100 million people.
While Jackman conceded the high Australian dollar made it more difficult for food processors here to make a profit, he did pointed out that ‘farmers will get paid more’ as the demand for food increases, expressing concerns Australia was missing huge opportunities in supplying our closest neighbour Indonesia.
The business leader also said foreign investment was needed in Australian agriculture, although purchases by sovereign-owned companies did present "special challenges''.
Jackman also said interest rates needed to be lowered by the Reserve Bank to bring the dollar down, which would help exporters.