Canadian take-over of Australian agriculture continues

Written by: Duncan B. on 15 September 2021

The Canadian take-over of Australian agriculture, forestry, fisheries and water continues unabated.

In 2015-16 Canadian investment in Australian agriculture was a mere $240 million, jumping quickly to $2.62 billion in 2017-18.

Canadian companies have invested over $10 billion in Australian agriculture since 2014-15. In 2019-20 they invested $2.55 billion. The Canadians are behind the four biggest farming deals in Australian history.

Recently the Alberta Investment Management Corporation paid Macquarie Agriculture more than $550 million for its Lawson Grains portfolio which comprises 105,000 ha of cropping land in NSW and WA which produces over 250,000 tonnes of grain and oilseeds.

As reported previously, Canadian companies have been very active again this year with multi-million dollar purchases of orchards, cropping land, cotton farms and sheep and cattle grazing properties.

Of special concern is the hold Canadian companies have on Australia’s limited water resources. Canadian companies now control almost 850 gigalitres of Australian water entitlements, making them the largest holders of Australian water.

Australian farmers are annoyed that while Canadian investment in our agriculture is seemingly unrestricted, most Canadian provinces impose very strict controls on the amount of farm land that foreigners can buy.

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