Agriculture is the in thing in biz, says Jim Rogers

Agriculture is the in thing in biz, says Jim Rogers

Mumbai, Sept. 13
Agriculture is the business to be in, and if one wants to become rich, one should become a farmer, remarked Mr Jim Rogers, a well known global investor known for his interest in commodities. Young Indians should take up farming, but they are reluctant to, said Mr Rogers who even exhorted presspersons to leave their jobs and join agriculture!
The best way to invest in India is in commodities, because if India is going to grow, then one should invest in things which India has to have for this growth, said Mr Rogers, who heads Rogers Holdings in Singapore (He was a co-founder of Quantum Fund, with Mr George Soros).
Mr Rogers said that he isn’t investing in India or in any other emerging markets at present. But he said the country’s water, agriculture and tourism sectors were attractive.
While stock markets are very expensive in most countries and are going to be like this for several years, this is a good time to start investing in commodities, he said. “They rebound faster and are the second largest asset class in the world,” he added.
Among the commodities, he is most bullish on agro products whose inventories globally are the lowest among the commodities. As far as gold is concerned, it is correcting, but most gold mines in the world are depleting. Historically, gold has been used to protect oneself in times of trouble, he said. “I own gold, and am going to buy a little bit of gold today here in India, not much, but souvenirs. And if gold continues to go down, I hope I am smart enough to buy more.” Governments and politicians think that putting controls on things is a good measure, but it is a terrible risk, said Mr Rogers. Commodity prices will go up whether they impose control or not as there is a serious supply side problem.
Commodity outlook
He expects prices of commodities such as cotton, sugar, coffee to rise further. “Currently we are not really seeing them as investment options, but these might surprise us later.” He said he was also bullish on Zinc and Silver.
Many politicians are advocating bio-fuels, so even if there might be an argument by scientists against bio-fuels in some cases, we know that bio-fuels are coming. “There will be much more demand for bio-fuels, so I am optimistic about it,” he said.
According to Mr Rogers, the dollar situation is likely to get worse. “It is a terribly flawed currency,” he said.
While he does expect that most countries will soon move away from the American dollar, he blames the Government and the US Fed for the current economic condition of the country. “In America we had a horrible credit bubble, and now we are paying a price for that. People had got houses, cars, student loans without paying anything. So the bubble burst.”
“I went short on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as I felt that they did not know what they were doing,” he said to reporters. “It was a horrendous mistake to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” he said.
Recent investments
His most recent investments are the Japanese yen, airline stocks, Swiss Francs, Agriculture and Chinese renminbi, he said.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/09/14/stories/2008091450900500.htm