Agriculture: Economics Of Business

Essence of the Article

Agriculture is an employer of many persons globally and Australia is no exception. According to the In Daily, there’s bound to be demand for food with the inevitable population growth into the future thus a supply gap for Australian Agricultural produce. The United Nation estimates a 70 percent population growth rate by the year 2050(Eady and Hajkowicz,2015)Also, there will be diversified consumer choices in the future following the increase in incomes thus the need for Australian agriculture to focus on diversification .In addition, there will be technological advancements to which the Australian agricultural system will have to incorporate into production of agricultural produce.

The author of the article explores the future agricultural changes and the measures to be put in place by the Australian government in preparation. There is need to adapt agricultural produce to conform to the current and future economic conditions. Also, infrastructure and business confidence in the Australian agricultural produce market ought to be used advantageously for the benefit of the Australians.Moreover, the demand for Australian beef by China has boosted Australian revenue and expanded its beef market(Binstead,2014)Further, quality, safety, demand and competitiveness of Australia’s agricultural produce in the global market.

Notably, the demand for the Australian beef product by China has provided a supply gap to which Australia is set on exporting its beef product to the Chinese Economy which will in turn increase Australia s revenue. Also, the article explores the competitiveness of Australia s agricultural produce at the global market due to the inadequate advertisement of the Australian Government products. The authors are interested in highlighting the general challenges affecting the once glorious Australian agricultural produce exportation performance due to the shortcomings highlighted in an effort to find permanent solutions.

Economics Concept and Analysis

Notably, China s demand for beef products is a golden opportunity for Australia to venture into. Notably, demand triggers supply of any service or commodity.Notably, China s beef supply gap quadrupled to 297000tons since the year 2012(Binsted,2014)Usually, small demand requires small supply. However, increase in demand fuels increase in supply thus the need for China to import beef products from Australia and other countries. Primarily, following Australia s strategic location to Asian Market, it is likely to increase its revenue through beef exportation to China. Further, the increase in demand for beef will create employment opportunities in Australia thus reducing unemployment rates and increasing government revenue.

Significantly, marketing is a tool for maximizing profit through advertising and Agricultural produce is no different(Binsted,2014)Also, Business confidence goes hand in hand with marketing thus the need to promote Australian agriculture and uphold Australian reputation of its green, clean and healthy agricultural produce. Woolworth and Coles form an oligopoly of the supermarket chain in Australia due to their dominance in the supermarket industry and solidified positions due to the entry barrier s developed over the years thus the ability to be price setters. Further, Woolworths and Coles are categorized as duopolies by Macquarie private wealth.

Food safety and quality have maximized Woolworth’s profits having sourced 96% of its fresh vegetables and fruits from Australia thereby increasing revenue for the Australian government (Mitchell,2014)Notably,woolworthsand coles are considered duopolic due to their long history of dominance without other firms in the Supermarket industry.Further, for better quality produce there’s need to incorporate technological advancements into production for better quality, productivity and efficiency(Langridge, Cordell and D’Occhio,2014)Woolworths is more of an oligopoly .Notably, the Australia supermarket industry is oligopolistic in nature.

According to the United Nations, population growth is likely to increase by 70% by 2050(Eady and Hakowicz,2015)thus the need to adequately prepare to meet the growing global demand for food .Significantly, agriculture is an employer of many in most economies and Australia is no exception .Also, due to the demand for agricultural produce globally, Australia should take advantage of the supply gap through exportation of agricultural produce to meet the global demand(Gray,2017).Also, there’s need to reform the marketing sector of agricultural produce on the global platform. Notably, lack of product popularization denies potential buyers the opportunity to know about the product thereby limiting   agricultural product market globally and nationally(Gray, Emer and Sheng,2014)                                  

Source; In daily.com,(2017) 

Recommendations.

The implementation of quality assurance schemes has maintained the quality of Australian agricultural produce, especially for fresh food enterprises. Notably ,good product quality builds business confidence ,retains and attracts customer base and likely to fetch good prices thus increase in revenue(Department of agriculture and Food ,n.d)Further, there’s need for proper transport and storage infrastructure for safe preservation of fresh produce to help maintain the quality and freshness of fresh agricultural produce because bad infrastructure will reduce freshness of the produce thereby affecting its quality during the transportation process.

Further, Agricultural produce can be made competitive through the implementation of technologically advanced techniques and equipment. Agriculture research and development initiatives have led to creative and innovate farming techniques and practices thereby resulting into safe and highly quality agricultural produce. Organic agriculture has been credited for producing high quality, safe and healthy produce and being environmentally friendly. Consequently, reduced or damage to fresh vegetables and fruits will lead to loss of revenue, erosion of business confidence and reputation (Manson, 2015)

Further, storage facilities have enabled supply of grains during non-seasonal times because of proper storage of agricultural produce after harvest when the demand was so high and is able to meet the demand long after grain season is over thus the need for adequate and proper investment into the storage facilities for agricultural produce in Australia. Proper storage is enabled to maintain produce quality through proper storage facilities. Also, transportation of agricultural produce ought to be improved to prevent perishability of fresh agricultural produce such as fruits and vegatables. Notably, substantial investment into electric rail and airports for transportation of perishables will minimize wastage and create employment opportunities in agri-business.

Conclusion Supporting my Analysis

In my view, agriculture is a significant employer in most economies thus the need to invest in its sustainability and profitability. In Australia, the agricultural sector faces various challenges such as poor marketing practices on the global platform, deterioration of agricultural produce quality and business confidence, storage and infrastructure challenges. However, the Australian government has incorporated measures and policies through its various agencies and departments to help mitigate these shortcomings. Notably, aggressive marketing of Australia s agricultural produce will create global awareness thereby expanding exportation markets and revenue.

Further, production of fresh agricultural produce through efficient, productive and healthy practices will make Australia s produce attractive and competitive in the global market thus increased revenue for the Australian government and farmers.Further, quality agricultural produce will build economic reputation translating into more exportation volumes which will require an increase in the Australian labor market hence reducing the unemployment levels in the state .Further, economic cooperation and development is encouraged through trade agreements between Australia and other Countries like China.

References    

Binsted, T.(2014)Australia poised to benefit from China Beef Demand. The Sydney Morning Herald.[Online]Available at https://www.smh.com.au/business/australia-poised-to-benefit-from-chinas-beef-demand-20140424-375pt.html[Accessed 11 May 2017]

Eady,S and Hajkowicz,S.(2015)Five Global Trends to challenge Aust Agriculture. In Daily.[Online]Available at https://indaily.com.au/news/business/analysis/2015/08/20/five-global-trends-to-challenge-aust-agriculture/[Accessed 11 May 2017]

Department of Agriculture and Food.(n.d.)Quality Assurance Schemes for Fresh Produce. Australian Government.[Online]Available at https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/small-landholders-western-australia/quality-assurance-schemes-fresh-produce[Accessed 11  May 2017]

Gray, D.(2017)World goes nuts for Australian Agriculture as Records Tumble. The Sydney Morning Herald.[Online]Available at view-source:https://www.smh.com.au/national/world-goes-nuts-for-australian-agriculture-as-records-tumble-20170306-guruhc.html[Accessed 11 May 2017]

Gray, E, M.,Emmer,O,M and Sheng, Y.(2014)Australian Agricultural Productivity Growth: Pat reforms and Future Opportunities. Department of Agriculture.[Online]Available at https://www.oecd.org/tad/events/Mr.%20Merrilees_Agricultural%20productivity%20growth%20reforms%20opportunities.pdf[Accessed 11 May 2017]

Langridge, P, Cordell, D and D’Occhio, M.(2014)Agriculture in Australia: Growing more than our Farming Future. The Conversation.[Online]Available at https://theconversation.com/agriculture-in-australia-growing-more-than-our-farming-future-22843[Accessed 11 May 2017]

Manson, S.(2015)Farmers take grain storage into their own Hands.ABC News.[Online]Available at https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2015-02-18/on-farm-storage-growing-significantly/6137468[Accessed 11 May 2017]

Mitchell, S.(2014)Woolworths to open sourcing office in Thailand.ABC News[Online]Available at https://www.afr.com/business/woolworths-to-open-sourcing-office-in-thailand-20140731-j6ym8[Accessed 11 May 2017]