Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia

The gross value for Australian agriculture rose by 3% to $60 billion in 2018-19 despite drought conditions.

The total gross value of crops rose 1 per cent to $30 billion despite a large fall in the value of broadacre crops (which account for more than half of the total value of crops). Drought conditions impacted broadacre crops in New South Wales and Queensland, while Western Australia experienced a bumper season. Results were also mixed for horticultural crops.

Key crop results for 2018-19:

• $6 billion for wheat (up 9%)
• $5 billion for fruit and nuts (up 9%)
• $4 billion for vegetables (up 7%)
• $3 billion for barley (up 32%)
• $1 billion for cotton (down 55%)
• $1 billion for canola (down 35%)
• $34 million for rice (down 86%)
   

The gross value of livestock and livestock products rose by 4 per cent to $31 billion, following increases in livestock slaughter and disposals in response to drought conditions.

Key livestock results for 2018-19:

• $13 billion for cattle and calves (up 7%)
• $4 billion for sheep and lambs (up 5%)
• $1 billion for pigs (up 7%)
• $10 billion for livestock products such as wool, milk and eggs
   

Impacts of drought are evident in agricultural activity estimates for the 2018-19 reference year across a number of the ABS' agricultural collections, including Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced. Many farming areas across Australia experienced drought throughout 2019, with New South Wales and Queensland particularly impacted.

There are no impacts in the 2018-19 estimates from more recent events including the COVID-19 pandemic, and from bushfire activity in New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory in late 2019 and early 2020. The ABS is continuing to monitor potential impacts from natural disasters and COVID-19 across its agricultural collections for the 2019-20 reference year and beyond. For more information on the expected economic impacts of the Bushfire and COVID-19, please see the ABS Chief Economist Series paper Measuring natural disasters in the Australian economy.

Final estimates from the ABS' annual agricultural collections are available each year in this publication (Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia) as well as in a number of other ABS publications. For the 2018-19 reference period, there are two changes to collection outputs.

Final estimates of the gross value of agricultural commodities that are produced with the assistance of irrigation data will no longer be released in Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production (cat. no. 4610.0.55.008). This data will instead be incorporated into Water Account, Australia (cat. no. 4610.0).

Final estimates for land management, similar to those previously published in Land Management and Farming, Australia (cat. no. 4627.0) will be available on request from the second half of 2020.

This release previously used catalogue number 7503.0.