The nation’s grains industry is set to be the new magnet for investment, according to leading financiers and agribusiness experts.

Qatar-backed Hassad Australia director John Corbett said the nation’s grain operations were “sleeper” assets with huge potential and that global interest in Australian agriculture would be a “game changer” for local wheat production.

The Grains Muster report said international attention has been focused on Australia’s beef, however, this will start to shift towards grain.

China aside, Mr Corbett said demand from South East Asian countries, including Vietnam and Indonesia, would consume whatever Australia could produce. He said the “big issue” was now how to make the grain sector more productive through plant breeding and technology.

If Australian farmers lift wheat production by 20 per cent by 2030 the nation’s export income would lift by $1.3 billion to $7 billion, according to the report. If Australia does nothing, and wheat production remains at about 25 million tonnes, the nation’s market share would slip by about 240,000 tonnes per year as it lost to global rivals – equal to shedding about 140 farmers a year.