7501.0 - Value of Principal Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia, Preliminary, 2007-08 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 10/02/2009   
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EXPLANATORY NOTES


INTRODUCTION

1 The value estimates in this publication are derived by the multiplication of price and quantity estimates of agricultural commodities.

2 Price data refers to the average unit value of a given commodity realised in the market place. Price information for livestock slaughterings and wool is obtained from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collections. Price information for other commodities is obtained from non-ABS sources, including marketing authorities and industry sources.

3 Changes to the ABS Agricultural survey program for 2007-08 resulted in the annual Agricultural Survey being combined with a benchmark survey of land management practices by agricultural businesses, and a survey of management responses to adverse seasonal conditions experienced by affected agricultural businesses. The combined survey is the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).

4 Quantity data for most crops have been collected from the 2007-08 Agricultural Resource Management Survey.


GENERAL

5 Where figures for individual states or territories have been suppressed for reasons of confidentiality, they have been included in relevant totals.

6 Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.

7 The method of collection of relevant prices and the costs of marketing for agricultural commodities varies considerably between states and between commodities. Where a statutory authority handles marketing of the whole or a portion of a product, data are usually obtained from this source. Information is also obtained from marketing reports, wholesalers, brokers and auctioneers. For all commodities, values are in respect of production during the year (or season) irrespective of when payments are made. For that portion of production not marketed (e.g. hay grown the agricultural business for own use), estimates are made from the best available information and, in general, are calculated on a local value basis.


PERIOD COVERED

8 The production statistics used in deriving the preliminary value estimates for 2007-08 and estimates for 2005-06 and 2006-07 relate to the years ended 30 June.


DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED

9 The following are brief definitions of the terms used:

  • Gross value of commodities produced is the value placed on recorded production at the wholesale prices realised in the market place.
  • Market place, in general, is the metropolitan market in each state. In cases where commodities are consumed locally, or where they become raw material for a secondary industry, these points are presumed to be the market place.
  • Livestock slaughterings and other disposals values are published as one figure but include two distinct components:
      • value of livestock slaughtered; and
      • value of net exports, i.e. the total value of livestock intended for slaughter in adjacent state(s) where available (at present these can only be identified between the Northern Territory and adjacent states) and livestock exported overseas whether for slaughter or breeding, minus the value of imports of livestock.


SAMPLE ERROR

10 The estimates for 2007-08 gross value of most crops are based on information obtained from respondents to the 2007-08 ARMS, which was a sample survey drawn from the total agricultural business population in scope of that collection. These estimates are therefore subject to sampling variability; that is, they may differ from the figures that would have been produced if all agricultural businesses had been included in the ARMS.

11 One measure of the likely difference is given by the standard error (SE) which indicates the extent to which an estimate might have varied by chance because only a sample was taken or received. There are about two chances in three that a sample estimate will differ by less than one SE from the figure that would have been obtained if all establishments had been reported for, and about nineteen chances in twenty that the difference will be less than two SEs.

12 The estimates of gross value of livestock slaughterings and other disposals, wool and milk are based on data obtained from censuses and are therefore not subject to sampling variability.

13 In this publication, sampling variability of the estimates is measured by the relative standard error (RSE) which is obtained by expressing the SE as a percentage of the estimate to which it refers. Most published estimates have RSEs less than 10%. For some states with limited production of certain commodities, RSEs are greater than 10%. Estimates that have an estimated relative standard error between 10% and 25% are annotated with the symbol '^'. These estimates should be used with caution as they are subject to sampling variability too high for some purposes. Estimates with an RSE between 25% and 50% are annotated with the symbol '*', indicating that the estimate should be used with caution as it is subject to sampling variability too high for most practical purposes. Estimates with an RSE greater than 50% are annotated with the symbol '**' indicating that the sampling variability causes the estimates to be considered too unreliable for general use. Separate indication of the RSEs of all estimates is available on request.

14 A table with RSEs for selected estimates of gross values follows:

RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS, Gross Values of Selected Commodities - At 30 June 2008
NSW
Vic.
Qld
SA
WA
Tas.
NT
ACT
Aust.
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
Barley for grain
5.7
5.5
9.0
5.7
4.1
22.6
-
-
2.6
Grain sorghum
6.3
-
5.1
-
81.1
-
-
-
4.0
Wheat for grain
4.8
5.7
5.1
4.5
3.1
10.5
85.3
58.8
2.0
Lupins for grain
11.8
20.1
-
10.6
6.8
37.5
-
-
5.6
Canola
17.0
10.7
66.8
8.7
7.0
11.1
-
-
5.0
Sugar cane cut for crushing
10.8
-
4.5
-
2.4
-
-
-
4.2
Total crops
2.0
1.7
2.3
1.6
1.8
2.2
4.5
7.1
0.9
Total livestock slaughterings and other disposals
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
Total livestock products
0.7
0.3
1.1
0.4
1.2
-
-
-
0.3
Total agriculture
1.0
0.8
1.3
1.1
1.4
0.9
1.0
1.5
0.5
. . not applicable
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)



ABS DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

15 As well as the statistics included in this and related publications, the ABS may have other relevant data available on request. Inquiries should be made to the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.


GENERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT

16 ABS publications draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated: without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.


RELATED PUBLICATIONS

17 A range of publications relevant to the Agriculture sector are produced by the ABS, including:
18 Current publications and other products released by the ABS are listed in the Catalogue of Publications and Products (cat. no. 1101.0). The Catalogue is available from the ABS web site <https://www.abs.gov.au>. The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the web site which details products to be released in the week ahead.