Case for agriculture investment strong but robust vehicles lacking

The case for agriculture exposure in investment portfolios remains convincing. The middle class growth in emerging economies and the associated increased protein consumption is one of the major positive factors as is the declining supply of readily available arable land per person. Locally, the recently announced Free Trade Agreement with China and other Asian countries provides a further boost with tariffs for a range of agricultural commodities reduced over time. Over the very long term agriculture in many countries has offered attractive pre tax returns and strong diversification benefits showing little correlation with equities and bonds.