SA: Confidence in rural SA improves, survey says

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2003
SA: Confidence in rural SA improves, survey says

ADELAIDE, Dec 1 AAP - Confidence in an improvement in the agricultural economy had
risen in rural South Australia, according to a new survey.

About 32 per cent of SA farmers expected economic conditions to improve in the next
year, the rural confidence survey found.

In the corresponding survey three months ago, only 29 per cent of farmers forecasted
improved conditions.

The survey, by rural lender Rabobank, also found 26 per cent of farmers in the state
believed the agricultural economy would worsen in the next year.

Of those 26 per cent, 78 per cent attributed their outlook to the rising Australian dollar.

The survey said 34 per cent of SA farmers expected to increase investment in the next
12 months, compared with 33 per cent in the last quarter.

Rabobank's SA manager James Robinson said the improvement in confidence reflected generally
good results from the winter cropping program currently being harvested.

"But there are a number of factors combining to dampen the outlook for the state's
farmers such as the rising Australian dollar and volatile commodity prices," Mr Robinson
said.

AAP sl/drp/bwl

KEYWORD: RURAL SA

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