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

Overview \r\n 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. \r\n\r\n Key Issues \r\n• 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. \r\n• 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. \r\n• 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. \r\n• 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. \r\n• 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. \r\n * Note: real dollar values are adjusted to remove the effect of inflation. \r\n