Three of Asia’s biggest agribusinesses, China’s New Hope Group, COFCO Corp., and Singapore-based Wilmar International are joining in a new 100-year partnership with Australian magnate Andrew Forrest with the goal of making Australia China’s ‘food bowl’. The partnership which is called the Australia-Sino 100 Year Agricultural and Food Safety Partnership, or the ASA 100, will ultimately be comprised of dozens of members including producers, distributors, and politicians from across Australia and China. China is Australia’s biggest trading partner but currently agriculture accounts for only 2% of Australia’s economy as opposed to 10% for mining. If efficiencies are improved, Andrew Forrest states that agriculture could become a ‘mainstay of the national economy’.
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