{"id":218461,"date":"2018-09-18T20:40:26","date_gmt":"2018-09-18T10:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=218461"},"modified":"2020-09-23T16:10:18","modified_gmt":"2020-09-23T06:10:18","slug":"farm-production-stable-at-60bn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/09\/18\/farm-production-stable-at-60bn\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm Production Stable At $60bn"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ABARES Executive Director Dr Steve Hatfield-Dodds (Photo: Linked In)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 18, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

The value of Australia\u2019s farm production is forecast to remain relatively unchanged in 2018-19 at $60 billion despite the drought in Queensland and NSW.<\/p>\n

This is well above the 10-year average of $55 billion.<\/p>\n

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) released its latest forecasts on Tuesday in the September quarter agricultural commodities report.<\/p>\n

ABARES executive director Dr Steve Hatfield-Dodds said dry conditions were affecting agricultural production in eastern Australia but there was expected strong production in Western Australia.<\/p>\n

Rising grain prices, high livestock prices and a lower Australian dollar were also providing support to farm incomes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe value of crop production is forecast to decline by 3 per cent to $30 billion in 2018\u201319, reflecting a 12 per cent fall in the volume of winter crop production nationally, especially in drought-affected cropping regions in NSW and Queensland,” Dr Hatfield-Dodds said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOffsetting this lower volume, we are expecting higher prices for canola, coarse grains, cotton and wheat. A favourable exchange rate will result in a much smaller decline in the value of production, and help maintain returns to Australian exporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cA warmer winter has supported the production of a range of fruits and vegetables, and sugar and wine grape production have not been significantly affected by the drought.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re expecting the value of livestock production to increase by 2 per cent to $30 billion in 2018\u201319, driven by increased supply of livestock as farmers destock in response to scarce pasture and rising feed costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cRelatively high world prices for meat are providing some support for cattle prices in Australia, but we are expecting beef prices to fall by around 9 per cent from the historically high levels of recent years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019ve seen, rising input costs are a significant challenge for some producers and we can expect increased competition in export markets as more cattle are turned off in the United States in response to dry conditions there.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite a higher value of production, total export earnings are forecast to decline by 5 per cent from $49 billion to $45 billion, largely due to lower exportable supplies of canola, coarse grains, and wheat, and an increased domestic demand for grain.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever these declines will be offset by a rise in export earnings for lamb, mutton, rice, cotton and cheese, due to strong global demand resulting from an increase in global economic growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cExport earnings for fisheries products are forecast to increase by 2 per cent in 2018\u201319 to $1.6 billion, after increasing by an estimated 10 per cent in 2017\u201318.\u201d<\/p>\n