All in the same plate, only different viands. But no matter, Australia could still very much capitalize on China's growing interest on its agriculture sector as the latter once had on its resources sector.

In a new report by consulting firm KPMG, Australia may opt to open its doors to accepting Chinese investors in its food industry if only to keep the flow of Chinese investments into the country, moreso that its resources boom has been seen to decelerate.

"The iron ore coal copper industry goes up and down with the demand for building and infrastructure projects," Doug Ferguson, head of KPMG Australia's China Practice, told Deal Journal Australia. "Food runs a pretty linear line in terms of demand, however, and that trend is irreversible."

If China's investment in the two poles apart sectors would be compared, nothing would still beat the country's mining and oil and gas investments in Australia, which represented a whopping 92 per cent of total Chinese investment between September 2006 and June 2012, according to research by KPMG and the University of Sydney.

China's investment on Australia's agricultural sector, on the other hand, fared small. Out of a total of A$15 billion investments that the Foreign Investment Review Board approved in fiscal 2011, only a total of A$4 million equivalent Chinese investments were in agriculture.

Mr. Ferguson said more investments from private Chinese companies could pour in Australia's food industry if the latter's farmers remain competitive amid struggling with rising costs and the tough Australian dollar.

"Generally speaking were seeing more and more Chinese interest in participating in the Australian supply chain from the gate to the plate," he said. "It's about influencing attitudes and decision making in a much more pragmatic manner."

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