CANBERRA: The expanding middle class in Asia could result in an increase in Australia’s wheat exports income from $5.7 billion to $7 billion by 2030. This 20% increase reflects the growing demand for grain, red meat and dairy in Asia and could transform the Australian grain industry according to new research by ANZ.
The grains-focused report, The Grains Muster, says that while human consumption of grain is significant and has increased globally, future prosperity of the Australian grain sector will be bolstered by two key drivers: the drought in Australia reducing the ability to support grass-fed cattle and a dramatic increase of people in Asia shifting their diets to consume red meat and dairy.
In order to achieve an aggressive growth scenario, the report states Australia would need to increase wheat production by 20% from 25 to 30 million tonnes over the next 14 years. ANZ Head of Agribusiness Mark Bennett said: “Unprecedented growth in demand for animal and dairy protein in China and South-East Asia has the potential to transform our grains industry over coming years.
“Historically our growth momentum has come from improvements in productivity, and producers will need to continue to find efficiencies in their operations wherever they can. One area with huge potential for production is the likely redirection of global capital flows into Australian agriculture with an expected increased focus on cropping operations,” Bennett said.
