Australian agricultural exports have grown by $12.5bn to $80bn due to higher-than-average rainfall and high commodity prices, a new report has found.
The Rural Bank’s Australian agricultural exports report for 2022-2023 stated that China led Australia’s top export market for annual growth, followed by Japan and the United States, with total agricultural export values almost 50% above the five-year average.
The report also warned Australian farmers could expect a smaller crop in 2023, which combined with a drop in commodity prices could mean a decline in export prices .
It is the second year in a row that China was the largest growth market, in dollar terms, for Australian agriculture. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has flagged he will visit China in the next few months as part of the thawing of the relationship between the two countries.
Rural Bank’s head of agribusiness development, Andrew Smith, said the value of exports to China rose by $3.1bn or almost 23% in 2022-2023 to a record high of $16.6bn, led by a 66% increase in wheat exports. Beef, almonds and cotton also recorded growth.
Smith said the growth in wheat exports “talks to the geostrategic challenges around the world with grain supply”.
“There’s been that sort of demand particularly from south-east Asia to get grain close to home where they could ensure both supply but also reliability, so that really did stand out,” he said.
China was a significant importer of Ukrainian grain before the Black Sea grain deal collapsed. Ukraine is considered one of the bread baskets of the world and the ongoing conflict with Russia has pushed grain prices up.
The report also shows Victoria remains the largest agricultural exporter by value, responsible for almost a quarter of all Australian agricultural export trade (24.2%).
Western Australia produced the largest export growth in agricultural commodities of any state last year, with increases in crop exports of 42% thanks to record production levels and high prices for wheat and canola.
Tasmania’s exports declined slightly (1.6%) to $1bn as a result of a fall in dairy exports.
South Australia’s cropping results set record prices for the state’s agricultural exports. While wine remained its second-strongest industry, wine exports from the state declined for the fourth year in a row.
The Quambatook farmer Brett Hosking, a former chair of Grain Growers and current board member of Farmers for Climate Action, said in spite of the spat over barley and wine tariffs in recent years, China would continue to be an important market for Australia.
He said while Australian farmers struggles with El Niño weather patterns, Chinese farmers struggle with La Niña patterns.
“I think the last couple of years haven’t been great for them,” he said. “The next couple of years they may boost their production a little bit [but] given the sheer number of people in China, they’re going to be a country that relies on imports.”
