Japan holds potential for Australian ag growth
“Japan is Asia’s not-to-be-forgotten gem,” said Austrade commissioner in Tokyo, Julianne Merriman. “Keep in mind it’s already our second biggest export market, our third biggest trading partner and the fourth biggest overseas investor in Australia.”
The home of high-tech, and a market obsessed with premium quality and safe food, Japan imports almost two thirds of its food needs. Japanese direct and passive financial investment totalled about $6.2b in Australia and New Zealand last year and is rising according to ANZ Banking Group’s Japan general manager, Grant Knuckey.
“Japanese companies are leaders in their fields and they’re showing strong interest in partnering with agriculture in Australia,” he said. “The ag tech segment is providing a particularly interesting opportunity for technology companies.”
Conversely, Japanese farmland even represented an opportunity for savvy Australian investors. Mr Knuckey pointed to NZ kiwifruit giant Zespri International, now growing crops in Japan. Gradually easing impediments to outside ownership or farmland leases were enabling new investors to take over and merge traditional small holdings, potentially revolutionising agriculture’s tiny 1pc contribution to the Japanese economy.
source: goodfruitandvegetables.com.au
