Department Of Agriculture Fisheries And Forestry Victoria
The statistics below provide an overview of the current state of Victorian agriculture, covering key aspects of Victorian agriculture: its value of production, its contribution to employment, food and fibre exports, land use and the number of farm businesses. We have sourced the statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) unless otherwise stated.
Gross value of agricultural production
Victoria’s gross value of agricultural production (GVAP) was $17.8 billion in 2019–2020, an increase of 12 per cent from 2018–2019. Victoria Australia’s largest agricultural producer by value, with Victoria’s GVAP representing 29 per cent of Australia’s GVAP.
The major commodities produced in Victoria (by gross value in 2019–2020) were:
| Commodity | Gross value ($ billion) |
|---|---|
| Dairy | 3.01 |
| Beef | 2.91 |
| Sheep meat | 2.21 |
| Grains | 2.98 |
| Fruit and nuts | 2.02 |
| Wool | 0.77 |
| Vegetables | 1.11 |
| Other agriculture | 2.82 |
| Total | 17.83 |
Employment in agriculture production and food industries
In 2020–21, a total of 146,600 persons were employed in agriculture production and food manufacturing:
- 74,800 in agriculture production
- 71,800 in food and beverage manufacturing
Of all states, Victoria had the largest number of persons employed in agriculture and food industries, contributing 28 per cent to the agriculture and food employment in Australia. According to ABS data, there are an additional 1,400 persons employed in forestry and 5,100 in agriculture, forestry and fishing support services. More than 75 per cent of employment in agriculture production is in regional Victoria.
Of the agricultural industries in Victoria, beef cattle was the largest employer, followed by sheep and grains industries:
| Industry | Number employed |
|---|---|
| Beef cattle | 18,783 |
| Sheep | 12,914 |
| Grains | 9,560 |
| Dairy cattle | 8,096 |
| Other fruit | 7,625 |
| Vegetables | 5,314 |
| Other livestock | 4,084 |
| Other agriculture | 4,051 |
| Poultry | 1,895 |
| Nuts | 1,233 |
| Wine grapes | 1,209 |
Number of farm businesses
There were 21,700 farm businesses in Victoria in 2019–20, accounting for 25 per cent of farm businesses in Australia. Victoria’s farm numbers have declined by 4 per cent per annum in the past decade, falling from 32,400 in 2010–11 to 21,700 in 2019–20.
Farms producing beef cattle are the most common type of farms in Victoria. Most farms produce more than one commodity, especially among farms producing sheep, cropping and beef cattle.
- 10,000 farms produce beef cattle
- 8,600 farms produce sheep
- 5,900 farms produce grains
- 3,500 farms produce dairy
- 2,850 farms produce horticulture for human consumption
Area under farming
The area of land used for agriculture production in Victoria was 11.3 million hectares in 2019–20, or 50 per cent of the state’s total land area. Of the total agricultural land, 42 per cent was used for cropping and 52 per cent for grazing.
Food and fibre exports
Victoria is Australia’s largest producer of food and fibre products, and these make up over half of Victoria’s total product exports. The state represents 26 per cent of total Australian food and fibre export value. Victoria’s food and fibre exports increased by $0.3 billion to reach a record $14.5 billion for the 2019–20 period, comprising:
- $11.4 billion of food exports
- $3.1 billion of fibre exports
Victoria’s top-earning agricultural exports are:
- meat – $4.7 billion
- animal fibre – $1.4 billion
- dairy – $2.1 billion
- grains – $1.1 billion
- horticulture – $1.6 billion
- wine – $380 million
- prepared foods – $1.3 billion.
China, USA, Japan, New Zealand and Indonesia were the most valuable markets for Victorian food and fibre exports in 2019–20, accounting for 61 per cent of Victoria’s food and fibre exports.
Latest statistics
The following factsheet covers key aspects of Victorian agriculture: its contribution to the broader economy, exports, land and water use, production trends and productivity.
The Fast Facts supplement the Food and Fibre Economic Factsheet, providing more details on the recent performance of Victorian agricultural industries.
Beef industry fast facts
Dairy industry fast facts
Grains industry fast facts
Horticulture industry fast facts
Pig industry fast facts
Poultry industry fast facts
Sheep industry fast facts
Wine industry fast facts
Wool industry fast facts
Victorian agriculture interactive map
This interactive map provides access to a wide range of agricultural data including processing and production information for the different industry sectors as well as environmental and infrastructure data.