Dairy buoyant
The Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey found farmers' expectations for their own business operations had also improved, with the net reading on this measure lifting to +37% from +19% previously.
Chong will analyse developments in the domestic grain and oilseed markets for the Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) division.
Rabobank Australia & NZ general manager for FAR Luke Chandler says Chong's industry experience has given him a solid understanding of the global grains and oilseeds complex and how this translates into domestic market conditions.
With an agricultural economics background and a number of years' experience in risk management and trading, Chong has worked closely with growers and is well versed on the complex market.
Chong says prices across the grain and oilseed complex increased significantly over the past few weeks, with the market continuing to respond daily to crop progress reports in the US.
"Rabobank's global research network is invaluable in this volatile market, as we can tap into people on the ground about local conditions, as well as more structural changes in the market."
Chong says while the current focus was on closely monitoring the huge jump in wheat, corn and soybean prices, as well as the condition of the domestic crop, the longer-term fundamentals for the sector remained strong.
"With the global population expected to reach nine billion people by 2050, agricultural production will need to increase by around 70%," he says.
"This creates significant opportunities for our domestic producers, particularly given their close proximity to the Asian market. And we are seeing growers continually invest in productivity improvements to increase production."
Chong says while the current grain price signals were strong, the market would continue to remain volatile as it reacted to external factors.
"And this is certain to keep my role interesting," he says.
