A record $8.3 billion in agricultural assets and agribusinesses were purchased by foreign investors during 2019/20, as the sector remained stable heading into the pandemic.

The Foreign Investment Review Board approved 174 agriculture, although this was the lowest number recorded in the sector over the past four years, the value was the highest recorded.

Proposals have steadily declined since 2016/17, when they totalled 223 albeit at a lower $7.0 billion in value. In the following years respectively were 201 proposals worth $7.9 billion and 197 proposals worth $7.3 billion.

While approvals increased by $1 billion over 2019/20, for the first time in four years the sector was the smallest by value for proposed investment approvals, leapfrogged by finance and insurance.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for about 4% of the total $195.5 billion of approvals over the period.

The largest sources of investment in the sector by value were Canada, which increased almost $1 billion to $2.55 billion, and Singapore with $1.37 billion, up by $1.12 billion.

Total FIRB approvals for the United States fell from $58.2 billion to $49.2 billion, with the agriculture, fishing and forestry sector falling from $1.17 billion to $716.8 million.

Proposed investment from China in the sector rose by $49 million to $300.5 million, while Japan increased $140 million to $197.8 million. Hong Kong dropped from $684 million to $205.5 million.

Germany was down from $228.7 million to $98 million and United Arab Emirates from $126 million to $39.8 million.

The Netherlands contributed $495 million to the total, up from $170 million, and the United Kingdom increased its investment from $143 million to $232 million, as did New Zealand, from $243 million to $331 million.

Switzerland upped its total from $70 million to $159 million.

Record low interest rates have combined with strong seasonal conditions and elevated prices stemming from international demand for beef and Australian produce to create a heated investment market, which has just seen the 438,000-hectare Miranda Downs in Queensland’s Gulf of Carpentaria set a new price record of more than $180 million for a single pastoral holding.