Overview
FOOD & BEVERAGE ACQUISITIONS (by region) by EAST ASIAN BUSINESSES – 2017

The Australian agricultural industry is highly dependent on exports – 58 per cent of total food produce is sold overseas, of which East Asia is a significant part. Asian companies are diversifying their Australian portfolios from traditional sectors such as mining and property towards food and beverages.
Australia is China’s 6th largest supplier of food (behind the United States, Brazil, Canada, Argentina and Thailand) with exports valued at A$5.3 billion in 2016. The value of Australian exports of processed foods increased by an average more than 40 percent between 2015 and 2016.
Nonetheless Australian represent only a small proportion of East Asian food & beverage acquisitions, with only 15 of the 245 acquisitions in 2017 being of Australian entities, compared to 9 of the 274 acquisitions in 2016.