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About the Agriculture, Farming & Raw Materials Industry

Agriculture, Farming and Raw Materials comprises a range of sectors which are cultivated from or on the land. These include crops, animals, timber and other raw materials, such as the mining of metals and minerals.

The global agricultural industry is a huge sector, amounting to 1.5 trillion hectares of agricultural land available, valued at around $5 trillion. After years of falling food prices, prices are now increasing. Competition for supply from a growing population and the use of arable land for biofuel is driving prices upwards. Some 2% of the global arable land is currently used for biofuels.

Available land for agriculture is also under pressure. The need for urban development reduces the available agricultural land. As a share of GDP, agriculture tends to be quite low in developed countries, at between 1-2% of GDP. Globally, agriculture contributes approximately 6% of world GDP, or roughly $4.2 trillion of global output.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates the global agricultural output will have to nearly double to feed the expected nine billion people in 2050. Demand for meat will grow by 23% in the next ten years to account for the increase in protein consumption in emerging economies, especially China and India. Growing animal protein is much more costly than growing grain, pulses and vegetables, and it takes up more space. Given all these factors, the FAO has forecast that agricultural commodity prices are likely to rise by as much as 30% in the next decade.

In recent years, the mining industry has benefitted from increased demand from emerging markets. Growing demand from emerging economies for primary resources has been the major theme in the mining industry in recent years. Demand for minerals will continue into the near term, as emerging economies build infrastructure to account for growing industries. There are three leading mining companies that have extended their dominance of the marketplace. These are BHP Billiton, Vale and Rio Tinto. These companies are forging ahead due to their presence in iron ore extraction. As a whole, the mining industry generates around $435 billion annually.

Iron ore turned in record prices with an increase of 111% in the 2010 average price as demand for steel rebounded, tightening the market for iron ore. Iron ore prices showed volatility in mid 2010, but generally trended upwards throughout the year. The copper price reached record levels with the 2010 yearend spot price reaching $9,600 per tonne and the average price up by 46%. This was influenced by continued strong demand for copper, led by China. Gold has been on a constant upward trend since the average price of $364 per ounce in 2003, reaching the new high of $1,421 at the end of 2010. Coal, copper and iron ore account for 63% of Top 40 mining companies revenues in 2010. Iron ore revenues increased by $35.8 billion in the year and represented 20% of total revenues, up from 15% in the prior year.