The urbanisation and industrialisation of the developing world is leading to new investment opportunities in food production, processing and distribution.
For global protein supplies, the choice of animal protein matters as does the source of animal feed, Macquarie Funds Management associate director Kingsley Jones told InvestorDaily.
Among the major available grains worldwide, the soy bean is emerging as the most actively traded international commodity, he said.
"Latin America wasn't producing as much soy bean 10 years ago as they are now. They're currently producing lots of it because it's really important for animal feed," Jones said.
"So what we're seeing is new land is coming into production and you obviously have to build the infrastructure to get the grain from the new land to the market."
Investment opportunities therefore lie in the new lands being farmed in Latin America, Belarus and the Ukraine, Jones said.
"There are various opportunities either directly in those companies that produce the grain or maybe the fertiliser company," he said.