Share tips: Play the global food supply crunch

America is suffering its worst drought in decades. That's bad news for this agricultural giant - but good news for patient investors, says Paul Hill.

America's Midwest is suffering a heatwave that has caused the worst drought for 24 years and is threatening the nation's crops. Corn prices are surging and the shares of US grain processors have plunged. This spike in input costs should be treated as an opportunity for investors. The world's population of seven billion is forecast to exceed nine billion by 2050. That will see demand rising by 70%.

Meanwhile, topsoil erosion, climate change and a lack of irrigation are restricting the availability of arable land. Throw in escalating demand from biofuels, and the world could face a supply crunch. I think the recent pullback in the shares of agricultural giant Bunge offers a good entry point for patient investors.

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Paul gained a degree in electrical engineering and went on to qualify as a chartered management accountant. He has extensive corporate finance and investment experience and is a member of the Securities Institute.

Over the past 16 years Paul has held top-level financial management and M&A roles for blue-chip companies such as O2, GKN and Unilever. He is now director of his own capital investment and consultancy firm, PMH Capital Limited.

Paul is an expert at analysing companies in new, fast-growing markets, and is an extremely shrewd stock-picker.