Saudi Arabia is to invest $800m on overseas farms, and South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries branching out into agriculture, in a sign that major food importers are stepping up efforts to secure supplies.

Saudi Arabia is setting up a new company, the Saudi Company for Agricultural Investment and Animal Production, to handle the investment, which may be increased.

The country, which imports nearly all its food, has a shortlist of 20 countries for investment, Abdullah al-Obaid, Deputy Agriculture Minister, told the Financial Times. It had been in contact with Argentina and Australia, plus countries in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

The decision follows the winding down of domestic wheat production to preserve water.

"Some say: 'Why are you doing this when you have been importing for a long time?' But we would like to secure [food supplies] ourselves, that is it," Mr Obaid told the Financial Times.

'Advanced agricultural methods'

'In a separate announcement, Hyundai Heavy, the world's biggest shipbuilder, said it was buying a majority stake in a Russian farming firm to help satisfy South Korea's growing taste for meat.

The group is to spend $6.5m on a 67.6% stake in Khorol Zerno, which farms 100,000 hectares in eastern Russia. Hyundai is to inject a further $9m by 2012 expanding Khorol Zerno's range to 50,000 hectares.

Hyundai, which is to "introduce advanced agricultural methods" to improve Khorol Zerno's efficiency, said the enterprise would provide corn and beans to the South Korean livestock industry.

"Hyundai Heavy expects to help Korean livestock farms by freeing them up from sudden price changes and supply shortages," the shipbuilder said.

Price rises

South Koreans' appetite for meat has continued to increase, with beef consumption at roughly 9kg per person per year compared with 7kg in 2005, and pork consumption rising roughly 2kg to 19kg.

However, the sharp depreciation of the won has raised the costs of imported animal feed and imported meat, sending consumer prices soaring. Poultry prices rose 37% in the year to January, with pork increasing 24%, according to US data.

HHI's investment comes a month after Madagascar's new president, Andry Rajoelina, ditched an agreement with South Korea's Daewoo Logistics to grow corn and other crops on 1.3m hectares.