Business Monitor International's Agribusiness service also provides proprietary medium term price forecasts for key commodities, including corn, wheat, rice, sugar, cocoa, coffee, soy and milk; in addition to newly-researched competitive intelligence on leading agribusiness producers, traders and suppliers; in-depth analysis of latest industry developments; and essential industry context, such as the background macroeconomic outlook and the downstream supply chain.

Key Benefits

• Use BMI's independent 5-Year industry forecasts to test other views - a key input for successful planning in dynamic agribusiness markets.

• Apply BMI's medium term commodity price forecasts to assist with budgetary planning and the identification of investment opportunities and potential risks

• Exploit latest competitive intelligence on your competitors and peers in Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa through our company rankings and analysis.

Executive Summary

Korea's major crop, rice, will have an unexpectedly good 2008/2009 harvest, with forecast production rising 9.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 4.84mn tonnes, despite a reduction in the area planted. The growth will be the first increase in rice production in Korea since 2005.

Despite the increase this year, however, we expect the long-term falling trend in rice production to continue over our forecast period. Increasing pressure on land will see the area planted continuing to fall despite yield improvements.

The major story in South Korean agriculture this past quarter has been attempts to secure agricultural land overseas. Korea is in the vanguard of wealthy food-deficit countries attempting to shore up food security by purchasing land in poorer countries for agricultural investments.

The Gulf states are following a similar strategy. The biggest, and one of the most controversial, such attempts was the deal between Daewoo Logistics and the government of Madagascar to lease 1.3mn hectares of land in the country for corn production.

Unsurprisingly, deals of this nature have been arousing nationalist sentiment in the countries targeted. The land lease in Madagascar has now been called off following the ousting of president Marc Ravalomanana. New President Andry Rajoelina vocally protested against the deal in his successful unseating of Ravalomanana.

Africa is not the only target for Korean companies, however. In April, Hyundai Heavy Industries, better known for shipbuilding, struck a deal to purchase a majority stake in Russia's Khorol Zerno LLC, which owns a 10,000 hectare farm in the far east of Russia. Similar projects are also on the horizon in Indonesia.

Korea's massive import requirements for grain and shortage of agricultural land mean that buying land abroad may seem like a good solution to guarantee food security. However, with land rights such an emotive issue, large foreign holdings in poor and oft unstable countries will always be an easy target for politicians hoping to score points among the rural poor. This will make any large investment inherently risky especially at times of high food prices when sensitivity surrounding the issue is heightened.

With Korean agriculture already propped up heavily with subsidies, there is little chance of dramatic increases in production at home. So despite the risks and the Madagascan setback, the scramble for land will continue. In April, the agriculture ministry gave its official blessing to companies seeking to invest in farmland abroad and raised the prospect of incentives such as cheap loans.

Chapter - Executive Summary

Chapter - SWOT Analysis

South Korea Agricultural SWOT

Chapter - Industry Business Environment Overview

Market Overview

Chapter - Supply Demand Analysis

South Korea Rice Outlook

Table: South Korea Rice Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Rice Production, Consumption & Trade

Industry Forecast ''“ South Korea Grain Outlook

Table: South Korea Wheat Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Corn Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Wheat Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Corn Production, Consumption & Trade

Industry Forecast ''“ South Korea Dairy Outlook

Table: South Korea Milk Production & Consumption

Table: South Korea Butter Production & Consumption

Table: South Korea Cheese Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Whole Milk Powder Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Milk Production & Consumption

Table: South Korea Butter Production & Consumption

Table: South Korea Cheese Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Whole Milk Powder Production, Consumption & Trade

Industry Forecast ''“ South Korea Livestock Outlook

Industry Forecast ''“ South Korea Livestock Outlook

Table: South Korea Poultry Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Pork Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Beef & Veal Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Poultry Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Pork Production, Consumption & Trade

Table: South Korea Beef & Veal Production, Consumption & Trade

Chapter - Competitive Landscape

Table: Agricultural Commodity Producers & Traders

Table: Agribusiness Suppliers

Table: Integrated Agricultural Producers

Chapter - Market Strategy - Grains Update

Corn

Table: Corn

Soybean

Table: Soybean

Rice

Table: Rice

Wheat

Table: Wheat

Chapter - Market Strategy Softs Update

Cocoa

Table: Cocoa

Coffee

Table Coffee

Milk

Table: Milk

Sugar

Table: Sugar

Chapter - Downstream Supply Chain Analysis

Industry Forecast Scenario - Food

Food Consumption

Table: Food Consumption Indicators -- Historical Data & Forecasts

Canned Food

Table: Selected Food Subsectors Value/Volume Sales (US$mn, unless otherwise stated) -- Historical Data & Forecasts

Confectionery

Trade

Table: South Korea Food & Drink Trade Indicators (US$mn) -- Historical Data & Forecasts

Industry Forecast Scenario ''“ Retail

Table: South Korea MGR Value Sales by Format (US$bn) -- Historical Data & Forecasts

Table: Grocery Retail Sales by Format (%) -- Historical Data & Forecasts

Economic Activity

Table: South Korea - Economic Activity

Chapter - BMI Forecast Modelling

How We Generate Our Industry Forecasts

Related Reports:

Japan Agribusiness Report 
New Zealand Agribusiness Report 
Philippines Agribusiness Report 
China Agribusiness Report 
Indonesia Agribusiness Report