Foreign Investment in Agriculture in MERCOSUR Member Countries

Foreign investors have taken a keen interest in the agricultural sector in recent years, for a number of reasons.

These reasons include sharp spikes and increased volatility in agricultural commodity prices since 2007, caused partly by population growth, urbanization, biofuels and changing diets. Extreme weather events have also led to significant crop failures in important producer countries. Many of these factors are long-term trends that will continue to make agricultural land, and agricultural production more generally, an attractive investment.This report provides information on foreign investment in agricultural land and production in the member states of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). There is a general lack of solid information on foreign investment in agricultural land and production in MERCOSUR countries, and the figures that do exist should be considered with caution. Nonetheless, the available evidence suggests that foreigners are playing a significant role in the sector.