Major Trends Affecting Australia's Agricultural Industries

As this decade draws to a close, the environment in which Australia's rural industries operate continues to change. Internationally, markets in countries such as Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia are now much more uncertain than they were a year or two ago because of the economic problems that face these countries. In Australia, markets are also changing, not because of an economic crisis, but because of consumer concerns about health. Removal of government intervention in agriculture is still underway as the government pursues the level playing field. At the same time, farm returns remain variable and poor relative to those earned in some other parts of the economy. This paper examines these and other developments that are influencing the rural sector