5260.0.55.001 - Information paper: Experimental Estimates of Industry Multifactor Productivity, 2007

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/09/2007 First Issue

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Contents >> Agriculture, forestry and fishing >> Productivity

PRODUCTIVITY

Figure 3.1 presents indexes of labour productivity, capital productivity and MFP between 1985-86 and 2005-06. MFP has steadily increased in the Agriculture, forestry & fishing industry over the last 20 years. Average annual MFP growth on a value added basis over this period was around 3% per year, which was far stronger than average annual MFP growth for the market sector of 1.2% per year. However, there are some notable exceptions to this trend growth over the last 20 years, with productivity falling in a number of years, most notably in 1994-95 and in 2002-03.

3.1 Agricultural MFP, labour productivity and capital productivity, (2004-05 = 100)
Graph: 3.1 Agricultural MFP, labour productivity and capital productivity, (2004-05 = 100)

Graph: 3.1 Agricultural MFP, labour productivity and capital productivity, (2004-05 = 100)

Given agriculture's susceptibility to variations in rainfall, it is not surprising that the story of Australian droughts manifests itself strongly in the labour productivity and MFP data presented in this chapter. Indeed, the marked falls in the various productivity measures in 1994-95 and 2002-03 relate directly to the droughts that occurred at those times.