SYDNEY, MAY 31, 2022: S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”), the world’s leading index provider, and ASX, today announce the launch of the S&P/ASX Agribusiness Index, a valuable market indicator that measures performance trends in Australia’s expanding agribusiness industry.
The S&P/ASX Agribusiness Index is a broad representation of Australia’s agribusiness industry and tracks the performance of ASX listed companies that are directly engaged in or benefit from agricultural-related activities.
The S&P/ASX Agribusiness Index selects constituents from the largest 1,000 ASX-listed securities and applies a liquidity screening process. In addition to Agricultural Products, the Index selects companies from other ten GICS® sub-industries such as Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals, Paper Products, Food Distributors, Brewers, Distillers & Vintners, and Packaged Foods and Meats. A list of keywords such as beverage, brew and dairy are also utilized to identify eligible companies through their business activity descriptions.
As a result of global population growth, climate change and geopolitical risks, the demand for food and other agricultural products has significantly increased worldwide, providing opportunities for exporters of high-quality products. Australia is a major producer of many agricultural products including wheat, wool, and beef, and the country currently exports approximately 70% of its agricultural products to other countries. The earnings of agricultural product exporters accounted for 12% of Australia’s total exports from 2020 to 2021.
Indeed, the country’s agribusiness sector is expected to continue to grow. To support the continuous expansion of the agricultural sector and to help build resilience against global challenges, the Australian government laid out the Delivering Ag2030 plan which sets the foundations for the country’s agriculture sector to grow to $100 billion by 2030.
Reid Steadman, Head of ESG and Innovation Products, S&P Dow Jones Indices said: “We are honoured to collaborate with the ASX and jointly bring this timely S&P/ASX Agribusiness Index to life which aligns with the Australian government’s goal of expanding the country’s agribusiness industry.”
