Agribusiness

Potato growers have poured cold water over reports earlier today that they’ll support deregulation of the industry, with the Potato Marketing Corporation saying it did not make any such recommendations and one senior grower representative labeling it a media stunt.

Commercial fishing company Austral Fisheries has taken the top prize in the agribusiness category at this year’s Australian Export Awards.

Live cattle exporter Wellard is set to list at $1.39 per share, launching a prospectus to raise close to $300 million to give the business a market capitalisation of almost $560 million.

Treasurer Scott Morrison is willing to consider any new applications to buy Australia's largest private landowner after knocking back the foreign acquisition of S Kidman and Co Ltd on national interest grounds.

Agribusiness Elders is focusing on growth, having completed a significant turnaround with a $38.3 million full-year profit.

The upcoming float of livestock exporter Wellard is set to be the fifth biggest in Western Australia’s history, and will also stretch the market lead of investment bank UBS, according to research by Business News.

Tony Galati’s battle with the Potato Marketing Corporation has been dealt a setback, after the regulator won an injunction from the Supreme Court to prevent him producing more than his allocated quota, until at least January 2.

Wellard managing director Mauro Balzarini is planning to sell a 60 per cent stake in the livestock export business through an initial public offering (IPO) that will be one of Western Australia’s largest.

Western Australian farmers are the most likely in the nation to hire new employees in the year ahead, according to the annual Commonwealth Bank of Australia Agri Insights survey.

Commodity prices are expected to rebound in the next two years, according to forecasts by the Economist Intelligence Unit, led by a sharp rise in the crude oil price and a lift in base metals.

South African fishing company Sea Harvest Group has committed to take its maximum possible entitlement under a planned $16 million-plus capital raising by Perth company Style.

From mining to agriculture, technology and finance, 40under40 award winners have been making news this year.

SPECIAL REPORT: Earnings for the state from the powerhouse minerals and energy industries have softened, but agriculture, among other sectors, will create opportunities. Business News also takes an in depth look at Bunbury port, where a big expansion plan needs community backing and solid regional demand growth.

Bannister Downs Dairy Company managing director Sue Daubney is aiming to rebuild Azzura Gelati to its former glory after striking a deal this week to buy the local ice-cream manufacturer.

Former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants to see closer agricultural ties between Australia and Indonesia.

With the resources sector in the doldrums, another of Australia’s traditional strengths – agriculture – is standing tall.

Style chairman Peter Hutchinson has boosted his fledgling seafood business with the recruitment of experienced agribusiness executive David Lock as managing director.

An organic farmer who took his GM-canola-cultivating neighbour to court claiming contamination faces losing his property after an unsuccessful appeal against a huge legal bill.

The competition watchdog plans to grant a regulatory exemption to WA Chip & Pulp Co, which will allow the Japanese-owned woodchip exporter to continue its partnership with international grain trader Bunge at the Port of Bunbury.

A big group of Western Australian farmers is among unsecured creditors expecting to receive as little as 7 cents in the dollar from the collapse of failed fertiliser supplier Superfert Dongbu.

Truffle production in Western Australia’s South West is on the verge of significant growth as a number of new producers enter the market and a series of previously planted trees reach maturity.

A run of good seasons has put Western Australian grain farmers in an improved position, according to the latest Planfarm Bankwest Benchmarks data.

The Perth Market Authority's Market City is set to be the first major transaction in the state government’s asset recycling program, as expressions of interest in the fruit and vegetable wholesaler closed with a number of potential bidders.

Welshpool-based logistics company Jolly & Sons has sold its John Deere dealerships in Dalwallinu and Wongan Hills to AFGRI Equipment Australia, the Midland-based subsidiary of South African agricultural services company AFGRI.

Indonesia has doubled its import permits for Australian cattle in the September quarter, after last month cutting such permits by 80 per cent.

A listed company led by Forge Group founder Peter Hutchinson and former AFL footballer James Clement has announced its second acquisition this year, adding Craig Mostyn Group’s food services division to an earlier seafood deal.

Perth-based Indian sandalwood company TFS Corporation has completed its purchase of US-based pharmaceutical companies Viroxis Corporation and Santalis Pharmaceuticals.

A new leadership team has taken the helm at the Potato Marketing Corporation as the industry moves towards deregulation.

Mt Barker winery West Cape Howe Wines was named best value winery of the year at last night’s Halliday Wine Companion Awards.

Western Australia is leading national trials in the farming of quinoa, with the crop a potentially lucrative export in the future.

Perth-based medical cannabis company Phytotech Medical has completed its $20.7 million merger with Canada-based firm MMJ Bioscience and raised $4.8 million in an oversubscribed placement to sophisticated investors.

The Northern Territory and federal governments are fast-tracking what could be one of the world's largest prawn farms by granting major project status to the proposal being driven by a Perth-based company.