Rabobank's Agribusiness Bulletin

Posted by: Kylie Wilson

Below is a link to Rabobank's Agribusiness bulletin for March.  Many of our clients will find much of this information of interest given current economic conditions.
Agribusiness Monthly is prepared by our Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory division. The report provides monthly commentary on Australian and New Zealand agricultural conditions.
Key highlights:

• Autumn climate conditions across Australia are expected to be mixed. Drought has been declared for most of the North Island in New Zealand, with the South Island challenged by ongoing dry conditions
• Official interest rate settings in Australia and New Zealand remained steady at the most recent central bank policy meetings. The focus continues to be on labour markets, both locally and abroad
• China has overtaken Korea in export volumes of beef from Australia, and is now the third largest export market behind Japan and the US, while exports to the Middle East broke records in February
• Dairy commodity prices have continued to rise on the back of continuing pressure on milk production and export supply in most key dairy export regions
• Australian wheat prices are expected to weaken relative to CBOT prices, making Australian exports more competitive on the global market

To view the full report, please click here.

Herron Todd White Rural Breakfast Seminar

Posted by: Megan Tilbrook

Anderssens' planning and environment team recently attended the Herron Todd White annual Rural Breakfast Seminar.
 HTW did not provide the positive forecasts for the rural property sector that I was hoping for.  The focus was on rural property in the northern States and it was clear that there have been relatively few sales during the last 12 months - many involving liquidated properties.  Due to the large amount of stock currently on the market, reduced buyer interest and restricted finance options it is expected that the next 12 months will continue to present challenges.
The seminar was concluded with an intriguing presentation on the Carbon market under the Carbon Farming Initiative, or the CFI.  The CFI as it presently exists poses several deterrents to property owners to get involved, with a permanence period of 100 years and the significant start up costs.  Currently high tech R&D is underway to minimise the set up costs and the risks.  From the talk in the room it was clear that there are developing opportunities for property owners to trade on the carbon market and that the way people deal with this commodity will be rapidly changing.