Overall worldwide farmland values have increased by an average of 20% since 2002 with the greatest increase in values seen in emerging markets where there have been major improvements in infrastructure and productivity according to the Global Farmland Index issued by London-based Savills. Australian farmland recorded an annualized growth over that time period of 15%, ranking second among advanced global economies behind New Zealand which saw growth of 17%. The highest rates indicated in Savills report were seen in the emerging markets of Romania (40%), Hungary (25%), and Brazil (25%) and Savills forecasts that Brazil and Romania will outperform the index at 40% annualized average growth. The findings indicated that a country’s regulatory environment and policies on farmland ownership played a major role in dictating the demand and value of farmland. Eastern European countries that have seen changes in their land market policies have also seen very high rates of growth and countries with flexible foreign ownership policies were likely to see growth above other real estate sectors.
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