Rabobank

As Australians grapple with current fuel price hikes and supply challenges, a new report highlights the key role the nation’s canola could play as a biofuel in future energy transition and fuel security.

Australian rural confidence declined in the first quarter of 2026, with the nation’s farmers already concerned about cost pressures in the year ahead, even prior to the outbreak of the current Middle East conflict. The quarter one Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey found national rural confidence had slipped to a net reading of -9 per cent (down from six per cent in the previous survey) even before the outbreak of the war against Iran.

Australia’s beef exports are set to face some of the biggest adjustments compared with other international exporters as new import quotas announced by China in late last year reshape the global beef trade, Rabobank says in a newly-released report.

Geopolitics remains the "dominant risk factor" for Australian agriculture in the year ahead, Rabobank says in its newly-released annual outlook, with the prospect that fast-changing global trade rules and volatile commodity prices are set to continue.

Export market demand has supported elevated prices for Australian lamb, mutton and beef through much of 2025, with favourable market conditions expected to continue into the new year, according to agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank. In its Global animal protein outlook 2026, the bank’s RaboResearch division says high cattle inventories will maintain elevated Australian beef production, while sheepmeat production takes time to recover.

Australia’s almond sector is entering a new era, as it begins large-scale orchard replanting to enable future growth and satisfy increasing local and global appetite for the popular nut, Rabobank says in a newly-released report. In its Australian Almond Outlook: Replanting for growth beyond 2030, the specialist agribusiness bank’s RaboResearch division says the Australian almond industry is "entering a pivotal transition phase"...

With ongoing increases in cattle slaughter and high carcass weights, Australia’s 2025 beef production is set to break new ground with record volumes, according to a new report by agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank. Beef exports though are also up for the year – and will potentially also reach record levels – well and truly accommodating the increased supply.

The surge in usage of ‘GLP-1’-style weight loss medications is seeing a "ripple effect" begin to unfold, impacting eating patterns in a number of countries around the world, Rabobank says in recently-released research.

The global agricultural landscape has entered a new phase where geopolitics – not only traditional market forces – will dictate trade flows, prices, and production decisions, according to Rabobank’s Agri Commodity Outlook 2026. The report describes a world increasingly divided between two spheres of influence – the United States and China – where agricultural commodity exports have become "pawns on a geopolitical chessboard."

Global beef trade is poised for growth over the next five years, driven by increasing demand from Asia and export expansions by South American countries, according to a new report by agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank.