Eoin Lowry Agribusiness editor, Irish Farmers Journal

After almost a decade of euphoric growth, soaring prices and buoyant demand for agri-food commodities, the last couple of years have seen a change in pace in the global agribusiness sector, with more heavily supplied markets, more cautious consumption forecasts, and therefore lower prices.

But the agribusiness sector retains plenty of potential for profitable growth and development. The new economic conditions have placed a renewed premium on efficiency, innovation and creativity.

The Irish Farmers Journal is again delighted to partner with KPMG in producing the global agribusiness survey and report, which looks at challenges, competitive advantages and opportunities facing agribusinesses around the world.

This year’s survey offers a unique overview of the state of global agribusiness at the start of 2016, drawing on the expertise of KPMG’s global network and the extensive travel by the Irish Farmers Journal team to provide an informed perspective on agribusinesses around the world.

In the following sections, we present the results of our analysis, outline what Irish agribusinesses can do to compete and draw some conclusions as to the implications for all those involved in the sector. We hope you enjoy reading it.

David Meagher partner-in-charge for Agribusiness, KPMG

Agribusiness is a global industry. The performance of Irish agribusiness is influenced by many factors, both domestic and international.

In this, our fourth annual Irish Farmers Journal/KPMG agribusiness report, we decided to take the temperature of the global agribusiness sector.

Building on the domestic survey which we have undertaken for the past three years, we used our global KPMG Food & Agri network to survey a wide range of major global agribusiness.

The results were fascinating, and we have used the survey output as the basis for this report. It is particularly interesting to note that, while there are differences between regions, agribusinesses around the world face many similar challenges.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my KPMG colleagues around the globe for their help in conducting this survey. We look forward to repeating the survey in future years, and await with interest the changes in sentiment and views that will inevitably occur.

In the meantime, I hope you will find that this report gives a real sense of where Irish agribusiness stands in comparison to our international peers and, most importantly, where we need to focus our collective resources to drive change and improvement.

Read more

To read the full Agribusiness report, click here.