China to buy up Australian farmland

The Communist Party of China is buying farmland, mineral rights and businesses around the world.

The Road to Serfdom Series

CHINA'S FOOD COLONIES:  Australia, Brazil, Zimbabwe and many other nations are selling their farmland to the Communist Chinese government


The world is moving toward a modern form of Neo-Serfdom where everyone works for the all-powerful State or businesses controlled by the State.  See one of the articles in our series The Federalist - Benito Mussolini was right.      

CHINA’S most powerful agricultural company, with more than 900,000 employees and connections to State owned banking enterprises, is looking to acquire about 80,000 hectares of Western Australian farmland, with several farmers understood to be on the verge of signing.

But the move is intensifying pressure on the Federal government to quantify foreign ownership in Australian agriculture and develop more appropriate regulations that match a long-term, sustainable national food plan.

In pursuing a concerted global strategy driven by future food security concerns, senior representatives from China’s Beidahuang Group (BDH Group) visited WA last month to develop discussions on potential land purchases and other related acquisitions.

If the deal went ahead, the company would own land and produce grain and other foods in Australia for export to China, through co-investment in local grain handling infrastructure.



Sui Fengfu, Chairman of the Chinese
state-owned BHD Group

In March this year, the BDH Group’s chairman, Sui Fegfu, was reported as saying the company planned to acquire 200,000 hectares of farmland this year, in Australia and Russia, the Philippines, Brazil, Argentina, Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

It’s understood the State-owned company’s investment in overseas projects between 2005 and 2010 totalled more than 250 million Yuan (AUD$37.6 million).

According to the company’s web site, it has 50 billion Yuan (AUS$7.5 billion) in total assets while the total land area of its 113 State owned farms covers 5.43 million hectares; including 2.124 million hectares of cultivated land, with about 66,000 hectares certified for organic production.   (Farm Weekly)


Beidahuang Group, owned by the Communist government of China, is purchasing farm
land all over the world with the goal to export the production back to China.

Massive Chinese farm investment in Argentina, Russia, Brazil and more


China’s largest agricultural company plans to acquire 200,000 hectares of land in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Australia, the Philippines, Zimbabwe and Russia in 2011, reported Chinadaily.com.cn. Heilongjiang Beidahuang Nongken Group chairman Sui Fengfu, told the website the group was investing in each country for different reasons.

“In Venezuela and Zimbabwe, the group mainly provides machinery and laborers, and takes about 20 percent of the harvest in return,” he was quoted as saying.

“In Australia, it is mainly through the acquisition of local farmland. In Brazil and Argentina, the business model involves renting land.”

Argentina’s government is acting to create ‘intelligent’ laws surrounding foreign agricultural land investment, while a member of the team preparing the law told Diario de Madryn the country was currently seen as the ‘main point’ of farmland investment by the Chinese.

“They are aware that in Argentina we are trying to curb the indiscriminate sale of land to foreigners, and they want to hurry and close the deals as soon as possible,” he was quoted as saying.

The newspaper reported the group’s aim was clear and simple: acquire productive land rapidly to help feed the northern Chinese state of Heilongjiang’s 38 million inhabitants.

The story reported Argentina was of particular interest to Heilongjiang due to its relatively low-priced land in comparison to other countries, with plans to process grains and oils.

China’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress deputy director Wang Yunkun, told the China Daily his country should continue to seek farmland overseas due to its technological advantages and land scarcity.

“Countries in South America, for example, have arable land and need our technology and investment, and they welcome our companies. It’s a win-win solution,” he was quoted as saying.

The obstacles

Last year Brazil implemented laws preventing companies that were more than 50% foreign-owned from holding more than 5,000 hectares of farmland, the China Daily reported.

Last week website Gatewaytosouthamerica-newsblog.com reported Brazil was preparing rules to block foreign governments, state-owned companies and speculators from buying land, but would allow ‘genuine’ private investors.

Brazil’s Agricultural Minister Wagner Rossi told the website the nation wanted to block ’sovereign investors’, and while he declined to mention which countries were concerned, to most analysts he was clearly referring to China.

“We need to distinguish properly on the one hand between speculators and sovereign funds, which are a threat to our sovereignty, and on the other side, foreign investors who come with good projects,” he was quoted as saying.

Venezuela partnership

Earlier this month Venezuela signed an agreement to form a joint venture food company with Heilongjiang, as the country’s president Hugo Chavez praised the Chinese for providing food for their 1.3 billion people and exporting it too, according to Venezuelanalysis.com.

“With the support of China, with the work of all Venezuelans, with scientific work, we’re going to convert Venezuela into an agricultural power on this continent,” he was quoted as saying.

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