18/07/2008 Note: The Data Cube VACP by Commodity Data Item and Totals 2005-06 has been reissued to correct an error in the unit of measurement of whole milk.

13/06/2008 Note: Additional data cubes were released. These include summary tables of VACP 2005-06, Gross VACP and Chain Volume Index by year, and VACP by commodity data items and totals 2005-06.

NOTES


ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION

This publication contains final estimates of gross value of production of selected agricultural commodities for all states, territories and Australia for the year ended 30 June 2006.


CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

Move to a new register of agricultural businesses

Until recently, the ABS had maintained its own register of agricultural establishments. However, it had become increasingly difficult to maintain this list, and users were questioning the accuracy of some of the commodity data published. The ABS investigated a number of alternatives for maintaining the register and it was agreed that the ABS should move to a new frame sourced from the Australian Taxation Office's Australian Business Register (ABR).

The ABR-based frame has been used for the first time to conduct the 2005-06 Agricultural Census. An implication of this strategy is that Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced (VACP) data are not directly comparable with historical time series for most crops and for eggs. This is because, in addition to the change in frame, there have been changes in methodologies used for determining whether agricultural businesses are 'in-scope' of the collection and in some of the ways the data are compiled. For more information, please see the Technical Note.

Value of hay

The 2004-05 Agricultural Survey included separate questions about production of pastures and grasses cut for hay, and other crops for hay. The 2005-06 Agricultural Census asked only the total production of all crops for hay. An estimated average hay price has been applied to total hay production to derive the value of all crops for hay.

Value of nurseries, cut flowers and cultivated turf

The VACP Market Prices survey collected separate prices for undercover and outdoor production for the first time in 2005-06. This has enabled the ABS to better reflect the value of undercover and outdoor production for nurseries and cut flowers.


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Geoff Ellerton on Hobart (03) 6222 5856.


SUMMARY COMMENTARY


NATIONAL ESTIMATES

The basis of the collection of many agricultural commodities was changed with the introduction of the 2005-06 Agricultural Census. The main effect of the change is that a direct comparison between the 2005-06 estimate of the Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced (VACP) and previous years must be treated with caution. More information concerning the break in the VACP series is included in the Explanatory and Technical Notes.

For VACP purposes, the new basis for commodity production data does not apply to commodities not collected in the 2005-06 Agricultural Census. Production data for apples and pears, grapes, livestock disposals and livestock products (with the exception of eggs) are sourced from other ABS collections and continue to be comparable across time.

The final estimate of the gross VACP for Australia in 2005-06 was $38.5 billion. Nationally the largest contributors were slaughtering and other disposals of cattle and calves ($7.7 billion), wheat for grain ($5.1 billion) and whole milk ($3.3 billion).

Crops

In 2005-06, the final estimate of the gross value of all crops was $20.8 billion. The highest contributors were wheat for grain ($5.1 billion), hay ($1.5 billion) barley and grapes (each worth $1.4 billion) and sugar cane ($1.0 billion). The combined value of nurseries, cut flowers and cultivated turf production was $1.4 billion in 2005-06 as average prices increased significantly.

Average prices increased moderately for wheat (up by 3%) and hay (up by 4%) in 2005-06. The average price of sugar cane increased by 7% and sorghum's average price rose by 6%, while the average prices of oats and canola increased by 10% and 2% respectively.

However the average price of rice and barley fell significantly (down 12% and 6% respectively) while the average cotton price fell by 1% over the same period. The average prices of field peas and lupins each fell by 5%.

The value of grape production decreased by 9% to $1.4 billion as production fell by 2% and the average price declined by 7% due to an excess supply of wine grapes.The value of Australian banana production in 2005-06 was $431 million as the average price increased to nearly $2,300/tonne due to the effects of Cyclone Larry in Queensland. Production of apples fell by 15% and average prices decreased by 20%, resulting in a 32% decrease in value to $360 million in 2005-06.

The average price of most staple vegetables rose significantly during 2005-06 with tomatoes up by 52%, mushrooms (up by 11%) and potatoes increasing by 10%. Other vegetables to report improved prices included capsicum, chillies and peppers (up 65%) carrots (up 13%), lettuce (up 15%), and onions (up 17%).

The value of the Nursery group of commodities (defined as nurseries production, cut flowers and cultivated turf and included as part of 'All other crops' in this publication) increased significantly in 2005-06. This reflected an increase in production and an improved valuation of undercover production for nurseries and cut flowers.


Livestock slaughterings and other disposals

In 2005-06, the final estimate of the gross value of livestock slaughterings and other disposals was $12.0 billion, a fall of less than 1% from the previous year.

The total number of cattle disposals in 2005-06 fell by 5%. Average prices rose by 3%, which was not enough to offset the fall in cattle numbers and, as a result, the value of cattle and calves slaughterings and other disposals fell by 2% to $7.7 billion.

The gross total value of sheep and lambs slaughterings and other disposals rose by $163m to $2.1 billion in 2005-06. The total number of sheep and lamb disposals increased by 9% but average prices remained unchanged to result in a net 8% increase in value.

The value of domestic slaughterings of sheep and lambs increased by 4% to $1.8 billion, with the 6% rise in the number slaughtered slightly offset by a small decrease in average prices (down 1%).

Similarly, the value of Australian live sheep and lambs exported in 2005-06 increased by 41% to $298 million, as the number exported rose by 31% and average prices increased by 7%.

In 2005-06 the gross total value of pigs slaughterings and other disposals fell by 2% to $890 million, with the number of total disposals remaining steady and average prices decreasing by 2%.

The gross value of total poultry disposals fell by 6% to $1.2 billion as production increased marginally (by less than 1%) and prices fell by 6% in 2005-06.


Livestock products

The final estimate of the gross value of livestock products in 2005-06 was $5.8 billion, up 1% on the previous year.

The value of total wool production fell by $112m (down 5%) to $2.1 billion as the average price fell by 7% and production increased by 2%. Production of shorn wool rose slightly (up by 1%) whilst the production of skin wool increased by 7% as more sheep and lambs were slaughtered in 2005-06.

The gross value of whole milk increased by $148m (or 5%) to $3.3 billion in 2005-06. Production fell marginally (by less than 1%) due to residual drought conditions, but average prices increased by 5%.

Production of eggs was collected in the 2005-06 Agricultural Census and consequently the figures are not comparable with previous years. The gross value of Australian egg production in 2005-06 was $376 million. Average egg prices decreased by 7% over the same period.