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WHAT IS THE VALUE OF AUSTRALIA'S AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES?

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The 2010-11 Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced (VACP) data were collected as part of the 2011 Agricultural Census.


VACP has three major categories:

• the value of crop production
• the value of livestock disposals (domestic slaughtering and exports of live animals)
• the value of livestock products (including wool, eggs and whole milk)

Data used in calculating VACP come from multiple sources:

• Buyers of agricultural commodities. There are many sources including VACP surveys of grain merchants, fruit and vegetable processors, cotton ginners, nurseries and sugar mills.
• Other ABS surveys, such as Livestock and Poultry Slaughtering and Wool Receivals.
• Administrative data sources such as exports data, fruit and vegetable market reports and newspapers.
• Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) and industry sources are used, where available, for comparative purposes.

VACP is released at different geographical levels:

• Commodity values are initially released at the state and territory level, and also at national level to give a total recorded agricultural production value. National and state/territory data for 2010-11 were released on 29 June 2012. See: Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia (cat. no. 7503.0)
• On 9 November 2012 a subsequent release followed at the Statistical Area 4 (SA4) and Statistical Area 2 (SA2) levels of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), the Statistical Division (SD) and Statistical Local Area (SLA) levels of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), and the Natural Resource Management (NRM) level.

Frequency of VACP data releases:

• Data are collected and released annually. VACP preliminary data are generally published within six months of the reference period, at the same time as the preliminary agricultural production data in Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia (cat. no. 7111.0). Final data follow approximately seven months after preliminary data have been released.

Format of VACP data releases:

• The final estimates publication includes a pdf version of the tables as well as a summary of the various commodities. The tables show the gross and local values of selected commodities on a state by state basis as well as marketing costs. The state and small area level data are released in data cube (spreadsheet) format.

Where to go for VACP data:

• VACP data can be found on the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) website at the following address: Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia (cat. no. 7503.0)