FEATURE Foreign cropland deals T here seems to be no end to the list of international cropland deals announced with increasing frequency beginning in 2008. Saudi Arabia says it plans to invest $4.3 billion in Indonesian rice production. South Korea announces that it has been granted the right to develop 1.4 million hectares for maize and palm oil in Madagascar, half of the country's arable land. Libya buys 250,000 hectares in Ukraine for wheat production. China acquires large farms in Africa, Russia and Latin America. United Arab Emirates purchases 324,000 hectares in Pakistan. Cambodia offers to sell Kuwait 800,000 hectares of idle land. A recent study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) estimates that wealthy food importing coun(Above) A rice paddy terrace in Indonesia. Several wealthy food importing countries have shown interest in purchasing land in Indonesia for their own rice production. Photo by Erik de Graaf. i AN ISO 9001 COMPANY Inter nat onal Standar d Produc ts at Most by David McKee A flurry of announced international purchases of grain-producing acreage sparks debate about their merits tries have signed agreements to lease or buy 15 to 20 million hectares of cropland. This has mainly been in Africa and Southeast Asia, where much of the agricultural land is considered to be underdeveloped despite relative poverty and rapid population growth. The Arab Gulf States and the three East Asian import powerhouses - China, South Korea and Japan - are most often Compet itive w Prices ww.k jrolls.co m 0 High Quality Rolls Flour Milling Feed Milling oilseeds Cracking & Flaking Industry Chocolate Coffee 00 Breweries RO KAY JAY CHILL ROLLS PVT LTD We also make & sell Machines Roll Grinding Cum Fluting Machines Roll Grinding Machines Roll Grooving / Fluting Machines KAY JAY LLS Ih 27 Industrial Area Phase - II, Panchkula - 134 113 India Tel : +91 172 259 4531 Fax: +91 172 256 8156 Email: sales®kj rolls.com Web: www.kjrolls.com Dynamic Balancing Machines for Roil For more information, see Page 86. 28 June 2009 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.comhttp://www.jrolls.co http://www.rolls.com http://www.kjrolls.com http://www.World-Grain.com