UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.
UAE based food manufacturer and marketer the IFFCO Group has bought a US$90mn stake in beef production firm the Australian Agricultural Company (AAC). Arab investment in agricultural production has become a well worn dynamic over the last year as particularly high price volatility has increased food security concerns; and the majority of such investment to date has consisted of sovereign wealth funds being used to secure land tenure in resource-rich developing countries (mainly in Africa and Asia). The dynamic of private capital buying into food production units is a new phenomenon among Arab agribusiness circles, but CFW believes it has the potential to become increasingly popular.