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Farmers Week's summary of the Power in Agriculure report produced for the 2012 Oxford Farming Conference
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Key findings
Power in AgricultureReport looks at where the
economic, political and natural resource power lies in world agriculture
Asks what does this mean for UK farmers?
Commissioned by Oxford Farming Conference for 2012
Carried out by SAC’s Rural Policy Centre
Summary of conclusions UK relatively small player in ag markets but
punches above weight in global power
The most powerful countries for agriculture: 1) United States 2) EU27 3=) China 3=) Russia 4) UK 5) Japan 6) Australasia
Farmers in UK face significant pressures and position as an agricultural player depends on its ability to become significantly more productive
Regional Power Index for Agriculture
Economic power
Economically the big power players are the United States and the EU-27
Major trading nations plus bases of transnational corporations in supply of ag products
Economic power cont...Top 20 countries account for 78% of
global exports and 70% of global imports
Four companies account for 75% and 90% of global grain trade
Seven companies control virtually all fertiliser supply
Top 20 importers
Top exporters
Yearly wheat imports of world’s top importers
Yearly wheat export of world’s top exporters
Yearly imports of beef and veal
Yearly exports of beef and veal
Where are key corporations?
Global wheat export predictions
Economic power – the futurePower currently concentrated in North
America and Europe
Trade projections indicate unlikely to change up to 2020
China and Brazil have clear advantages in some commodity markets, but corporate power is lagging
Export capabilities of the EU-27 predicted to decline in next 10 years unless policy changes to increase productivity growth
Political powerPolitical power relevant to agriculture
concentrated in hands of United States, major EU countries and some others within G7
But EU will have to confront difficulties and competition for market access from emerging economies like China, India and Brazil
Natural resources UK relatively poorly endowed in global terms in
critical natural resources used in agriculture
Emerging economies better placed in terms of water and energy endowments ie Brazil, China, Russia
Water-intensive, fertiliser-intensive and energy-intensive agricultural practices of European countries are unlikely to be sustainable in long-term
Phosphate reserves
Conclusions for UK farmersThe UK punches above its weight in terms of
trade, corporate and political power, but it is behind Russia and China in terms of overall power thanks to its low natural resources
While Europe is expected to avoid the worst effects of climate change, the UK in particular faces challenges in terms of land, water and non-renewable energy
More conclusions... Increasingly tight supplies mean European
production has to become more efficient if current production is to be sustained. If the EU lost its economic and political powers, the situation for European agriculture could be even worse in future
Government policy needs to look more carefully at improving research and development to help farmers increase production, while export capabilities could be hit unless trade rules are altered
And finally...While emerging economies such as China
and Brazil have advantages in certain commodity markets, their corporate power in agriculture is still not on a par with the USA and the EU, especially UK, France and Germany. However, a major challenge is to balance corporate power with consumer and farmer power domestically