In the earlier months of the wider economic meltdown, the list of agri-stocks monitored by the CBA held up considerably firmer than the wider market, but now have begun to fall more rapidly, fuelled by some big falls in the share price of companies such as Incitec Pivot and Nufarm, which are two of the biggest companies covered by the report.

The agribusiness sector has fallen 20pc in the past month, compared to a decline of 10pc in the wider market.

It means losses over the past year are close to equal, with the agribusiness area falling 46.9pc, compared to 43.2pc for the ASX 200.

The fall in agribusinesses' share prices, however, has occurred in a much shorter space of time – with the vast majority of the slump taking place since June, compared to a more gradual fall over the past year for the ASX 200.

One of the major reasons for the falls has been earning downgrades, with significant downgrades forecast for some major agribusinesses by the analysts.

Volatility has also had a large impact, rising to levels of over 60pc, compared to an average of 12-14pc in recent times.

The CBA report suggested this volatility may ease back to just above the wider market in the coming months.

In terms of returns and risks, the agribusiness sector is regarded as one of the higher risk, but higher returning sectors.

The Agri-Indicators report is made up of a range of agribusinesses trading on the ASX, such as grains, livestock, input and managed investment firms.