New data shows mixed fortunes for an Australian horticulture sector facing numerous challenges; however, the long-term outlook remains strong, with total production value increasing by 2.8% to $16.3B.
The latest edition of the Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook, developed by Freshlogic on behalf of Hort Innovation, was released today and includes information on 75 different horticulture categories.
Hort Innovation chief executive officer Brett Fifield said the result reflected the resilience of Australian horticulture. “The value of the horticulture sector grew by $434.3M over the past year, demonstrating the hard work and passion that our industry has for growing high-quality fresh produce that feeds not only Australians but consumers across
the world.”
“Growers have faced a myriad of challenges the past few years, including adverse weather events, higher production costs, and labor shortages, that have affected profitability. Hort Innovation continues to support the horticulture sector by investing in research and development, marketing, and trade to build a prosperous and sustainable future for growers.”
The handbook is released by Hort Innovation each February and captures the previous financial year’s data. The user-friendly guide includes figures on national and state-level production values and volumes, exports and imports, processing volumes, fresh supply, retail, and food service distribution.
More data and insights from the 2022/23 Handbook include:
- The total production value of Australian horticulture in 2022/23 increased by $434.3M (2.8 percent) to $16.3B. The rising value was driven by significant value increases in the fruit and vegetable categories – which increased by 12.6 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.
- It was a strong year for fruit value (increasing $708.1M), with volume increasing marginally. Growing farmgate production value for fruit value was driven by large increases in production values for avocados (increasing $196.9M), table grapes (increasing $196.4M), bananas (increasing $81.7M), apples (increasing $78.4M) and cherries (increasing $36.1M).
- Overall vegetable production values reached a high of $5.83 billion, increasing 5.4% in 2021/22. While value increased, vegetable production volume dropped again in 2022/23 by 3.2 percent, making 2022/23 the lowest year for production volume in six years.
- Overall, nuts ended the 2022/23 year considerably weaker – decreasing by 42%, or down $527 million on 2021/22, to reach $721.1 million.
- The total value of fresh horticulture exports decreased by 3.4 % in 2022/23 to $2.54 billion. Fruit export value increased by 6.3% in the previous year, while vegetable export values remained relatively stable, dropping just 1%, and nut export value decreased by 15%.
- Of the fruits, table grapes and avocados saw the highest year-on-year growth in export values, with 28% and 13%, respectively, on 2021/22 levels. Nursery, onions, potatoes, strawberries, and watermelon export values all increased in 2022/23, with nursery and potatoes reaching their highest recorded export values.
The full Handbook (PDF and online tool) is available at www.horticulture.com.au/hort-stats-handbook.
For more information:
Lauren Jones
Tel: +61 427 140 765
Email: [email protected]