Australia Expects Record Value of Farm Production
AUSTRALIA - Australia’s gross value of farm production is expected to achieve a record of $49 billion in 2013-14, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES).
19 September 2013
2 minute read
Releasing the September edition of Agricultural Commodities today, Executive Director of ABARES, Paul Morris, said the value of farm production was expected to exceed $46 billion for the fourth year in a row.
“This continues the recovery in the farm sector from the drought-affected decade of the 2000s.
“However, improved returns are not the universal experience across the sector, with some producers still suffering from adverse seasonal conditions and other producers facing declining prices for their products,” Mr Morris said.
The value of exports is also expected to remain firm, but with a slight easing to $37.2 billion in 2013-14 from the record high of $38 billion achieved in 2012-13.
Farm commodities for which export earnings are forecast to increase in 2013-14 include beef and veal (up six per cent), dairy products (15 per cent) and wine (eight per cent).
Positive growth in livestock and livestock products earnings has been helped by higher world prices for dairy products and lamb, and the depreciation of the Australian dollar.
This increase is expected to be offset by lower export earnings for wheat (down four per cent), canola (33 per cent) and cotton (16 per cent).
The decline in grains and oilseeds returns is, in part, a result of a decline in world prices for grains and oilseeds due to increased supplies in the United States and the Black Sea region.
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