The latest data on foreign direct investment (FDI) by U.S. food manufacturers shows a continued rise in outward investment with an increase of 26 percent in 2003 over the previous year to an estimated US$2.8 billion worldwide. This increase in U.S. FDI activity comes as outward U.S. manufacturing cross-border M&A activity in the food and kindred products industry shows a slight recovery, totaling US$5.1 billion in 2003 after declining from more than US$8 billion in 2001 to US$4.1 billion in 2002. Underneath these global trends, however, loom significant issues for the globalizing food industry. 

This new analysis from Deloitte Research uncovers a divided global investment pattern and raises the all-important question: where in the world should U.S.-based multinationals put their foreign direct investment dollars for long-term strategic advantage, growth and profits?

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