Research and Markets: Pakistan Agribusiness Report Q4 2009

DUBLIN--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/908a18/pakistan_agribusin) has
announced the addition of the "Pakistan Agribusiness Report Q4 2009" report to
their offering.

Business Monitor International's Pakistan Agribusiness service provides
proprietary medium term price forecasts for key commodities, including corn,
wheat, rice, sugar, cocoa, coffee, soy and milk; in addition to newly-researched
competitive intelligence on leading agribusiness producers, traders and
suppliers; in-depth analysis of latest industry developments; and essential
industry context on Pakistan's agribusiness service.

Pakistan has been attracting interest in its large but underdeveloped
agricultural sector from across the globe in recent months. This comes as part
of the increasing trend of rich food deficit countries investing in agriculture
in poorer countries with more plentiful land resources.

In June, news agency Reuters reported that the government of Pakistan had
offered 404,700 hectares (ha) of farmland for sale or lease to foreign
investors. It is the usual suspects of the Gulf states and South Korea who are
the likely targets of the government's drive for investment. Oil rich, food poor
states from the Middle East and food deficit prone South Korea have been spurred
by the high food prices of 2007 and 2008 to increase their food security by
investing in agricultural land abroad.

In July, the Pakistani minister for investment said that the country would be
happy to provide land for Korean companies to build food and dairy processing
facilities. Also in July, the chief minister of the Punjab said that there was a
large amount of interest in investing in the province's agriculture from Qatar.

A month earlier, in June 2009, Tetra Pak announced the signing of an memorandum
of understanding with local company Engro Foods to create a dairy hub in the
Sahiwal district of the Punjab. The hub will serve 15 villages in the district
and aims to promote more efficient production and bring smallholders into the
formal dairy market chain.

Foreign investment has a vital role to play in improving productivity in
Pakistan's agricultural sector. Investment in training farmers to improve their
production methods will be beneficial for both the producers themselves and the
companies seeking to buy their products. Investments such as the one by Tetra
Pak are to be welcomed wholeheartedly.

The sale or lease of land to foreign companies is a more complex issue. While no
firm deals have been announced as yet, the government's apparent willingness to
sell large swathes of land could be a source of friction with local farmers if
they feel they are not benefiting from increased production. Land and
agriculture are emotive issues, particularly in such a rural country as
Pakistan.

This is not to say that any deal to lease land to foreign investors would always
produce negative results, but the government needs to be sure that those who
will be impacted by any deals are fully consulted and not just focus on the
valuable source of foreign currency being offered. Such deals have already
fallen apart in other parts of the world owing to local resistance, most notably
Madagascar where a plan to lease a huge tract of agricultural land to a Korean
company likely contributed to the downfall of the president in March.

Key Topics Covered:

* Executive Summary
* SWOT Analysis
* Industry Business Environment Overview
* Pakistan Livestock Outlook
* Pakistan Dairy Outlook
* Pakistan Rice Outlook
* Pakistan Grain Outlook
* Competitive Landscape
* Commodity Price Analysis
* Downstream Supply Chain Analysis
* Table: Pakistan Food Consumption Indicators - Historical Data & Forecasts
* Special Focus
* Forecast Modelling

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/908a18/pakistan_agribusin.

Research and Markets
Laura Wood
Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax from USA: 646-607-1907
Fax from rest of the world: +353-1-481-1716

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