In the midst of the debate over the collapse of the Land Law in Argentina, a story from Australia clearly highlights the contrast between the two countries.
While opposition sectors to the Government of Javier Milei block changes to attract investments, an Argentinian family is advancing without restrictions in one of the most dynamic agricultural markets in the world.
This is the Buratovich family, a business group with over a century of history in the country, which recently made an investment of 44 million dollars in Australia and already controls about 750,000 hectares in the Northern Territory. An area equivalent to the entire province of Tucumán.
The latest operation was the purchase of Aroona, a cattle station of 147,000 hectares located about 90 kilometers from Katherine, which includes 15,000 head of cattle and a strong agricultural development potential.
With this acquisition, the family consolidates an international expansion strategy initiated years ago, which had its turning point in 2019 when they landed in Australia.
The land acquired by the Argentine family
An open model for investment
This case is not isolated. Australia allows the purchase of rural land by foreign capital under an administrative control scheme, with registrations and authorizations in certain cases, but without imposing rigid limits on the amount of land in foreign hands.
This model contrasts with the Argentine one, where current legislation establishes a cap of 15% of rural land in foreign hands, a restriction that Milei's Government sought to relax, even just raising it to 25%, as part of a strategy to attract investments.
However, that chapter was removed from the project in the Senate after a series of political rejections from the opposition, which nullified one of the central axes of the official initiative.
Investments finding destinations abroad
The story of the Buratovich family reflects a broader trend: capital originating from Argentina finding better conditions to expand in other markets.
The land acquired by the Argentine family
The family, which began its activity in the early 20th century in Buenos Aires, now operates in over 20 countries and serves more than 400 clients. Their growth was not coincidental: they first expanded in the region —Uruguay and Brazil— and then jumped to more competitive markets like the United States and Australia.
In this last country, they replicated their productive model with a long-term vision. From the purchase of Scott Creek in 2019 to the recent acquisition of Aroona, the strategy combines livestock production with agricultural development on high-potential land.
One of the most attractive aspects of the Australian market is its predictability. The rules are clear, stable, and oriented towards promoting productive investment. Added to this is a strategic advantage: proximity to Asia, one of the main food demand centers in the world.
The collapse of the land chapter in the Argentine Congress highlights that while other countries compete to attract agricultural investments, Argentina maintains restrictions that limit that flow.
The result is visible in stories like that of the Buratovich family: capital, knowledge, and local experience that ultimately expand outside the country, in markets where conditions allow for growth at scale.
