Food magazine wants to know your thoughts on the pending sale of GrainCorp, Australia's largest publicly listed agricultural company.
US agribusiness giant, Archer Daniels Midlands (ADM), has made a $3.4 billion bid for the company, Australia’s biggest grains handler, and Treasurer Joe Hockey is due to make a decision on the bid by 17 December.
The potential foreign takeover of GrainCorp has generated heated conversations on both sides of the argument.
The NSW Farmers’ Executive Council says farmers are concerned that the investment needed in GrainCorp’s assets may be passed over in favour of expenditure on the remainder of ADM’s international network, while one of the oldest farm organisations in the US, the National Farmers Union says it’s seen the negatively effects of foreign takeovers in its own country and advised Australia to reject ADM’s offer.
On the other side of the coin, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has given the Treasurer a green light on the acquisition, claiming that the deal was unlikely to substantially lessen competition due to the presence of other competitors in the market.
Paul Howes, the Australian Workers Union boss is supportive of the sale, arguing that without foreign investment, Australia's agribusiness will "never become the food bowl for Asia that we talk about'.”
Food magazine wants your opinion! To the right of your screen you’ll see our poll question, with four responses for you to choose from. Please get involved! We’ll publish the results once the poll closes on 8 December.