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Vegetables

The area sown to vegetables reached a peak of over 200,000 hectares in 1945. After this high, it fell to around 100,000 hectares from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, then increased towards the end of the 1990s, peaking at 131,000 hectares in 1995-96 (table 16.25). In 1999-2000 the area sown to vegetables was 127,000 hectares, a slight decrease from the previous year.

In 1999-2000, potatoes were by far the largest vegetable crop in terms of both area and production (tables 16.25 and 16.26).

A wide variety of fruit is grown in Australia, ranging from pineapples, mangoes and pawpaws in the tropics to pome, stone and berry fruits in temperate regions. Table 16.27 shows the number of trees for the main types of orchard fruit, and the area under cultivation for bananas and pineapples.

The most significant crops in terms of gross value of production are bananas, oranges and apples. In 1999-2000 the value of the banana crop increased by 7%, while the value of the orange crop decreased by 7% and the value of the apple crop decreased by 15% (table 16.28). While bananas, oranges and apples remain the principal fruit crops in Australia, some other fruit types have experienced considerable growth in recent years, for example mandarins and strawberries.

16.27 SELECTED FRUIT, Number of Trees(a), Area
Year	Apples ’000 trees	Apricots '000 trees	Oranges ’000 trees	Peaches ’000 trees	Pears(c) ’000 trees	Plums and prunes '000 trees	Bananas(b) ha.	Pineapples(b) ha.	Total area of fruit and nuts (excluding grapes) ha.
1994-95	5,101	642	6,297	1,245	1,317	905	8,281	3,209	128,258
1995-96	5,302	634	6,477	1,296	1,384	902	8,893	2,824	133,461
1996-97	5,656	629	6,736	1,475	1,416	931	9,589	2,668	137,086
1997-98	5,845	569	6,667	1,498	1,381	1,015	10,478	2,762	144,082
1998-99	5,969	565	6,400	1,509	1,401	1,024	11,405	2,821	145,265
1999-2000	6,115	520	6,945	1,972	1,401	1,420	11,730	2,817	154,049
(a) Number of trees six years and over. (b) Bearing area. (c) Excludes Nashi.
Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0); ABS data available on request, Agricultural Commodities Survey, Agricultural Census.

Grapes are a temperate crop requiring predominantly winter rainfall and warm to hot summer conditions for ripening. Freedom from late spring frosts is essential to prevent the loss of the developing fruit. Grapes are grown for winemaking, drying and, to a lesser extent, for table use. Some of the better known grape producing areas are the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Riverland, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra in South Australia; Sunraysia and the Yarra Valley in Victoria; the Hunter and Riverina in New South Wales; the Swan Valley and Margaret River in Western Australia; and the Tamar Valley and Coal River Valley in Tasmania.

The gross value of grape production for 1999-2000 decreased by 7% to $1.1b (table 16.29). Table 16.30 shows the area of vines and the grapes produced by grape variety.

16.29 VITICULTURE, Area, Production and Value
	Area(a)		Production of grapes(b) used for		Total production(c)
Year	Bearing ’000 ha.	Total ’000 ha.	Winemaking ’000 t fresh weight	Drying ’000 t fresh weight	Quantity ’000 t fresh weight	Gross value $m
1994-95	63	73	578	147	769	511.0
1995-96	65	81	782	248	1,087	714.4
1996-97	72	90	743	136	943	721.4
1997-98	78	99	871	177	1,112	998.2
1998-99	95	123	1,076	119	1,266	1,200.1
1999-2000	111	140	1,111	133	1,311	1,118.2
(a) At harvest. (b) Excludes the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. (c) Includes grapes used for table and other purposes.
Source: Agriculture, Australia (7113.0).