Australian vegetable growing farms: an economic survey, 2016-17 and 2017-18

Brief description

Overview
Since 2007 ABARES has conducted an annual survey of vegetable-growing farm businesses to provide industry and government with information about farm-level production and the financial situation of vegetable growers. This web-report present estimates of farm financial performance, farm debt, equity, capital, investment and physical characteristics for the vegetable-growing industry from 2006-07 to 2017-18.

Key Issues
• In 2017-18 average farm cash income of Australian vegetable-growing farms is estimated to have increased by 12 per cent to $319,000 per farm, the highest in real terms* since ABARES began surveying vegetable-growing farms in 2007. Average farm cash income is estimated to have increased in all states except Queensland and Western Australia.
• The average rate of return (excluding capital appreciation) of Australian vegetable-growing farms is estimated to have increased to 5.9 per cent in 2017-18, following an average return of 4.9 per cent in 2016-17.
• Average debt of Australian vegetable-growing farms decreased by 20 per cent to around $438,000 per farm in 2016-17, mainly because of reduced working capital debt. With reductions in average farm debt the proportion of farm receipts needed to fund interest payments remains low at around 2 per cent. Around one-quarter of vegetable-growing farms held no debt in 2016-17.
• The total value of capital for all Australian vegetable-growing farms decreased by 15 per cent in real terms from 2006-07 to 2016-17 because of a reduction in the number of vegetable-growing farms. From 2006-07 to 2016-17 the total number of Australian vegetable-growing farms fell by 31 per cent. Most of the decline was largely a result of a decline in the number of small vegetable-growing farms planting less than 20 ha.
• Australian vegetable growers made an average of $280 million in new capital investment each year from 2006-07 to 2015-16, in real terms. In 2016-17 vegetable growers made a total of $319 million in new investment, with around half of vegetable-growing farms made capital additions.
* Note: real dollar values are adjusted to remove the effect of inflation.

Full description

Physical characteristics of Australian vegetable-growing farms - KeyDocument 01 \r\n In 2016-17 an estimated 2,600 Australian farms were classified as vegetable-growing farm businesses. Around 25 per cent of these farms were in New South Wales, 24 per cent in Queensland, 19 per cent in Victoria, 11 per cent in South Australia, 11 per cent in Tasmania and 10 per cent in Western Australia. The total number of farms growing vegetables tends to vary from year to year, partly because opportunistic growers-mostly small farms-participate when prices and/or seasonal conditions are suitable.
Farm financial performance - KeyDocument 02 \r\n In 2016-17 average farm cash income of Australian vegetable-growing farms increased by an estimated 13 per cent to $283,600 per farm. This was a result of a larger decline in total cash costs than the decline in receipts.
Farm debt and equity - KeyDocument 03 \r\n Debt is an important source of funds for investment and ongoing working capital for many vegetable-growing farms. At the national level, from 2006-07 to 2016-17 average total debt per farm increased by around 38 per cent in real terms. The overall increase in average debt has been accompanied by increases in average total cash receipts per farm. Changes in debt from year to year are mainly a result of changes in debt for working capital and land purchases. In 2016-17 total farm debt at 30 June decreased by around 20 per cent to an average of around $438,000 per farm, mainly because of reduced working capital debt.
Farm capital and investment - KeyDocument 04 \r\n Investment in farm capital is important for the ongoing development of the Australian vegetable-growing industry. New and more efficient technologies are important for farm productivity and investments in land, fixed improvements, and plant and equipment are key drivers of vegetable grower's capacity to generate farm outputs.
Authoritative descriptive metadata for: Australian vegetable growing farms: an economic survey, 2016-17 and 2017-18 - Metadata in ISO 19139 format\r\n