Agriculture in Australia: Encyclopedia II - Agriculture in Australia - Major agricultural products

Agriculture in Australia - Major agricultural products

Australia produces a large variety of primary products for both export and domestic consumption. The top ten agricultural products in 2001-2002 by value in Australian dollars were:

Agriculture in Australia - Crops

Cereals, oilseeds and grain legumes are produced on a large scale in Australia for human consumption and livestock feed. Wheat is the cereal with the greatest production in terms of area and value to the Australian economy. Sugarcane, grown in tropical Australia is also an important crop; however, the unsubsidised industry (while lower-cost than heavily subsidised European and American sugar producers) is struggling to compete with low-cost Brazilian product. Listed below is crop production by kilotonnes (five year average) for the largest crops:

Agriculture in Australia - Horticulture

Australia produces a wide variety of fruit, nuts and vegetables, the largest crops (>300 kilotonnes, in 2001-2001) include oranges, apples, bananas, chestnuts, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes.

Tropical fruits including bananas, mangoes and pineapples fair well in Queensland and the Northern Terrority.

Australia is one of the few countries that produces licit opium for pharmaceuticals. This industry, centred in Tasmania, is subject to strict controls.

The horticulture industry has traditionally provided Australians with all their fresh fruit and vegetables needs, with a smaller export industry. However, loosened border controls and increasing importers have threatened local industries. Consumer research has repeatedly shown that Australian's prefer local produce. However, there is no effective country-of-origin labelling and consumers frequently assume all fresh vegetables and fruit must be Australian.

In 2005 McDonalds Australia Ltd announced it would no longer source all its potatoes for fries from Tasmanian producers and announced a new deal with New Zealand suppliers. As a result Vegetable and Potato Growers Australia Ltd launched the 'fair dinkum' campaign to raise awareness and push for country-of-origin information on all food products. This campaign included a tractor convoy moving from Tasmania to the mainland (by barge) and then a road trip throughout country Victoria and New South Wales culminating at Canberra, the national capital.

Some commodity groups (e.g. bananas, apples) also enjoy a freedom from devastating fruit pests, however loosened import restrictions may introduce these diseases.

Agriculture in Australia - Viticulture

Australia has a large wine industry, and the value of wine exports surpassed AUD$2.3 billion in 2002-2003. Wine regions include the Barossa Valley in South Australia, Victorian Sunraysia in Victoria and the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. The key wine varieties grown in Australia (by area in 2001-2002) are Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet sauvignon.

Agriculture in Australia - Livestock

The number of livestock killed for domestic consumption or export, or exported live in 2001-2002 is shown in the following table:

The Beef Industry

The beef industry is the biggest agricultural enterprise in Australia. The Australian beef industry is dependent on export markets, with over 60% of Australian beef production exported, primarily to the United States and Japan. The industry has benefited from the discovery of BSE (also known as mad cow disease) in Canada, Japan and the United States, as Australia is free of the disease.

The Lamb Meat Industry

Lamb has become an increasingly important product as the sheep industry has moved its focus from wool production to the production of prime lamb. The beef meat industry and the lamb industry are represented by Meat and Livestock Australia. Live export of cattle and sheep from Australia to Asia and the Middle East is a large part of Australian meat export. Live export practises came under scrutiny after the carrier the Cormo Express carrying 52 000 animals was turned away from Saudi Arabia in 2003 due to suspected cases of scrapie. The sheep were eventually given to Eritrea, however media coverage has led to calls from animal rights activists for the live export trade to cease.

The Pork Industry

There are currently an estimated 2,000 pig producers in Australia producing 5 million pigs annually (Productivity Commission). Although relatively small on the world stage (0.4% world production) the industry provides a significant positive impact on local, regional, state, and national economies through income generation and employment. The pork industry contributes approximately $970m to Australia’s GDP and the supply chain contributes $2.6billion to the GDP. The industry generates over $1.2b of household income, directly employing 6,500 full time positions, and the supply chain employees 29,000 people. The Australian pork industry is represented by Australian Pork Limited, a producer-run company created by legislation

Unlike the sheep and chicken industries, the pork industry has avoided controversy for its animal welfare practices. However, with the Model Code of Practice currently (2005-2006) under review animal activists have pressured the industry over its use of ‘sow stalls’. Sow stalls confine the space of the animal and prevent it from turning around. However, the industry argues that pigs are aggressive animals and cannot be farmed in group housing. The ‘savebabe campaign’ run by Animals Australia used a website and billboards in all capital cities to promote the cause. It was supported by Babe (film) actor James Cromwell, and other lesser known Australian ‘celebrities.’

Other issues for the industry include security of feed grain supply especially during times of drought, declining profit margins for producers, the increasing volume of imports and the threat of the entry of the devastating post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrom disease (PMWS). A Productivity Commission Inquriy was held in 2004-2005 which endorsed Australian Pork Limited's plan to restructure the industry to become globally competitive

Agriculture in Australia - Dairy

Dairy products are Australia's fourth most valuable agricultural export.

Domestic milk markets were heavily regulated until the 1980's, particularly for milk used for domestic fresh milk sales, particularly protecting smaller producers in the northern states who produced exclusively for their local markets. The Kerin plan began the process of deregulation in 1986, with the final price supports being removed in 2000. [1]

Growth in the Australian dairy industry is dependent on expanding export markets. Exports are expected to continue to grow over time, particularly to Asia and the Middle East.

Agriculture in Australia - Fisheries

The gross value of production of Australia's fisheries and aquaculture products was $2.3 billion in 2002-03. The Australian aquaculture industry's share of this value has been steadily rising and now represents around 32 per cent. The value of exports of fisheries products in 2002-03 was $1.84 billion. Australia's main seafood export earners include rock lobsters, prawns, tuna and abalone.

Agriculture in Australia - Fibre

The Wool Industry

Wool is still quite an important product of Australian agriculture. The Australian wool industry is widely recognised as producing the finest quality merino wool. This is largely attributable to selective breeding and a superior genetic line.

As of 2001 Australian wool production accounted for 9% of world production (Australian Bureau of Statistics Data). However, it dominates the fine quality wool sector, producing 50% of the world’s merino wool.

Although sheep are farmed Australia-wide, 36% of the wool herd are in New South Wales.

Research and development for the industry is led by Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI), a producer owned company. Australian wool is marketed by the Woolmark company. Both companies are held by Australian Wool Services, a company created by legislation.

The industry is export-oriented. Historically, up to 90% of Australian wool was exported. The industry has suffered from a lowering demand for natural fibres, a stockpiling of product, and a crash in wool prices world-wide.

In 2005 the Australian wool industry came under pressure from animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for the practice of ‘mulesing’. Mulesing involves using shears to remove, without anaesthetic, a portion of lose skin from the rear of the animal. It is used to prevent maggot infestation, which is a husbandry problem unique to Australia. PETA’s campaign targeted US consumers rather than domestic legislators, using graphic billboards in New York. They threatened US manufacter’s with television advertisements ‘shaming’ their companies. Fashion retailers Abercombie and Fitch, Gap Inc, Nordstrom, and George (UK) have joined the ban. This has been damaging to the Australian industry, given its heavy reliance on exports. No viable alternative to mulesing currently exists.

Cotton

Australia also produces considerable amounts of cotton. The majority of the cotton produced is genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup or to actively kill pests through the production of Bt toxin (Bt-cotton).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Major agricultural products", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki