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Investors Worldwide food shortages are leading to fast rising food prices.
Buy some of the best agricultural land in Europe at low prices and benefit.
The era of cheap food is over
The price of wheat has doubled in less than a year, while other staples such as corn and soya are trading at well above their 1990s averages. Rice and coffee prices are running at 10-year highs, and in some countries, prices for milk and meat have more than doubled.
The graphs below illustrate how over the previous three years there has been a build up in prices, with very sharp increases in 2007 (and continuing 2008).
Whilst the market is likely to occasionally pause and consolidate, the long term trend is fairly obvious. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to come up with reasons:
- World population is scheduled to hit 9 billion by 2050
- Production of bio-fuel, such as Ethanol, replacing food production
- Rising wealth in developing countries, particularly China and India means more demand for food, and a move from plant to meat based diets
- Rising desertification and global warming.
Such a significant and broad based trend provides strong and relatively low risk investment opportunities.
Rising land prices
Growing incomes from developing countries and greater spending from rising populations in general will provide a long term push under food and hence farmland prices. No doubt, scientific progress will increase yields yet more, through increasingly use of GM technology, for example, but much of the enhancing of yields is behind us and such progress is likely to only reduce the rate of price increase, not reverse it.
The simple consequence for this will be increasing premiums paid for quality farmland. In the UK, for example, the average cost of farmland rose to £8,164 per hectare in the second half of last year. This was up from about £6,900 for the same period of 2006. And there’s no slowing in 2008
UK and international estate agents Knight Frank state that over the past 18 months the price of farmland has risen steadily on the back of strong demand and restricted supply. The rate of price growth has increased over recent months, with the annualised rate now hitting 33.2% - the highest rate since 1977 (when price growth briefly hit 40%).
And where prices have risen even more sharply, such as Ireland, investors and farmers are increasingly looking overseas to purchase lower cost land.
Where to buy?
A glance at the map below shows blue gaining and reds loosing.
Agrilandsales.com specialise in two countries in particular: Bulgaria and Ukraine. Those with sharp eyes will notice that these two countries are in the blue zone.
With its massive and often fallow land reserves, the Ukraine could be described as the Argentina of the Northern Hemisphere and should really be in dark blue.
And a particular area of Bulgaria has some of Europe’s best quality farmland; the North Eastern coastal area, the “Drobuja”. A gentle rolling, highly fertile, landscape divided by the distinctive lines of tree windbreaks. With plenty of sunshine and rainfall, it’s an excellent crop growing region. In high summer, field after field of sunflowers make an impressive sight.
Invest now
Through our extensive contacts and infrastructure there, we are pleased to offer some excellent quality and very reasonably priced farmland. Offers range from a few acres to larger blacks, although it is rare to find very large single offers of this premium farmland. Ownership tends to be multiple and piecemeal. We can, however, follow client instructions to accumulate tracts in close proximity to each other.
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We are highly experienced in property conveyance, having processed hundreds of transactions over the past 5 years. You can be sure that full and clean title is transferred. Plus, a full range of after sales support is available.
Use the “Contact Us” to make your enqui
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In Ukraine, our local partners, Uaproperty.com, can source land that is available on either a purchase or lease basis, with terms up to 49 years. As planning permission can often be gained on agricultural land, price is often not as low as might be expected. This can make long term leasing a much more economical option.
Large blocks of land can be sourced more readily than in Bulgaria. Climate ranges from cool temperate in the North, to wine growing in the south. Quality of soil is often very good, underlining the countries reputation as the bread basket of the former Soviet Union
After sales support
Following purchase of Bulgarian land, clients can avail themselves of a range of services from our dedicated “Property Care Department”. This department has its own modern office in Marina City, Balchik. Staff are expert in managing property on behalf of clients and can offer the following services:
- Finding tenants for the farmland and managing them, if required.
- Property care contract for land not let and retained by owner (for capital growth)
- Property management contract: Undertaking specific farm related actions, according to client requirement.
Following purchase or lease of Ukrainian land, the Kiev and Crimea offices of local partners can source local farmers to rent the land and provide other after sales support, as required.
Please use the “Contact Us” page to ask further questions or specify your land requirements, and we will be pleased to assist. |
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