Foreign investment in agribusiness in Australia is becoming more
restricted.
During 2011, the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board
(FIRB) has stepped up its scrutiny of foreign
acquisitions of agricultural assets. FIRB increasingly requires
more information on the impact of an acquisition on Australian
employment, benefits to local companies, market concentration and
the benefits to local communities and consumers. The increased
restrictions are not the result of any change in Australia's
foreign investment laws, but reflect community and political
concerns about the level of foreign ownership, food prices, and
food security.
In the most recent development, on 6 July 2011 a Committee of
the Australian Senate announced an inquiry into the growing
interest of foreign companies and government agencies in
agricultural land, and the way in which FIRB deals with proposed
acquisitions of agricultural land. This is not the first time the
Senate has examined the
