1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/01/2002   
   Page tools: Print Print Page  
Contents >> Agriculture >> Fruit and Vegetables

Vegetables

The area sown to vegetables reached a peak of over 200,000 hectares in 1945. After this high, it fell to around 100,000 hectares from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, then increased towards the end of the 1990s, peaking at 131,000 hectares in 1995-96 (table 16.25). In 1999-2000 the area sown to vegetables was 127,000 hectares, a slight decrease from the previous year.

In 1999-2000, potatoes were by far the largest vegetable crop in terms of both area and production (tables 16.25 and 16.26).


16.25 SELECTED VEGETABLES FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION, Area




Year
French and runner beans

’000 ha.

Carrots


'000 ha.

Onions


’000 ha.
Green peas

’000 ha.

Lettuces


'000 ha.

Potatoes(a)


'000 ha.

Pumpkins


’000 ha.

Tomatoes


’000 ha.
Total
vegetables

’000 ha.

1994-95
6.1
6.9
5.2
9.8
4.0
37.6
5.4
8.7
129.1
1995-96
7.1
7.6
5.5
8.2
4.7
41.8
6.6
8.6
131.4
1996-97
7.9
7.0
4.8
9.3
4.7
41.1
6.3
8.8
129.7
1997-98
6.6
7.1
5.6
7.0
5.7
42.6
5.9
8.0
130.6
1998-99
5.9
6.5
5.4
6.2
6.2
41.3
7.5
8.5
130.2
1999-2000
6.6
7.0
5.3
5.5
5.2
36.8
9.0
8.3
127.4

(a) Excludes potatoes for seed.

Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0).


16.26 SELECTED VEGETABLES FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION, Production

Year
French and runner beans

’000 t

Carrots

’000 t

Onions

’000 t
Green peas (pod weight)

’000 t

Lettuces

’000 t

Potatoes(a)

’000 t

Pumpkins

’000 t

Tomatoes

’000 t

1994-95
29.4
238.5
200.4
97.9
92.5
1,122.4
76.7
340.0
1995-96
32.0
249.9
244.5
80.8
107.2
1,308.1
96.5
370.9
1996-97
37.6
257.4
196.5
94.2
110.8
1,286.1
87.1
393.1
1997-98
35.6
266.5
218.9
76.0
129.1
1,371.6
84.8
380.1
1998-99
30.4
256.6
224.0
65.7
131.1
1,326.8
87.6
394.4
1999-2000
34.5
283.3
247.1
66.9
151.9
1199.6
108.8
413.6

(a) Excludes potatoes for seed.

Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0); ABS data available on request, Agricultural Commodities Survey, Agricultural Census.


Fruit (excluding grapes)

A wide variety of fruit is grown in Australia, ranging from pineapples, mangoes and pawpaws in the tropics to pome, stone and berry fruits in temperate regions. Table 16.27 shows the number of trees for the main types of orchard fruit, and the area under cultivation for bananas and pineapples.

The most significant crops in terms of gross value of production are bananas, oranges and apples. In 1999-2000 the value of the banana crop increased by 7%, while the value of the orange crop decreased by 7% and the value of the apple crop decreased by 15% (table 16.28). While bananas, oranges and apples remain the principal fruit crops in Australia, some other fruit types have experienced considerable growth in recent years, for example mandarins and strawberries.


16.27 SELECTED FRUIT, Number of Trees(a), Area

Year



Apples

’000 trees
Apricots

'000 trees



Oranges

’000 trees



Peaches

’000 trees
Pears(c)

’000 trees


Plums and prunes


'000 trees



Bananas(b)

ha.



Pineapples(b)

ha.
Total area of fruit and nuts (excluding grapes)

ha.

1994-95
5,101
642
6,297
1,245
1,317
905
8,281
3,209
128,258
1995-96
5,302
634
6,477
1,296
1,384
902
8,893
2,824
133,461
1996-97
5,656
629
6,736
1,475
1,416
931
9,589
2,668
137,086
1997-98
5,845
569
6,667
1,498
1,381
1,015
10,478
2,762
144,082
1998-99
5,969
565
6,400
1,509
1,401
1,024
11,405
2,821
145,265
1999-2000
6,115
520
6,945
1,972
1,401
1,420
11,730
2,817
154,049

(a) Number of trees six years and over.
(b) Bearing area.
(c) Excludes Nashi.

Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0); ABS data available on request, Agricultural Commodities Survey, Agricultural Census.


16.28 SELECTED FRUIT, Quantity and Value of Production

Year
Apples
Apricots
Oranges

Peaches
Pears(a)
Plums and
prunes
Bananas
Pineapples

QUANTITY OF PRODUCTION (’000 t)

1994-95
316.6
29.8
517.2
58.7
151.7
21.3
208.1
138.5
1995-96
280.0
21.6
442.1
60.4
156.0
21.4
220.0
127.9
1996-97
353.1
25.9
522.6
72.1
167.6
25.2
199.6
123.0
1997-98
308.9
19.9
499.8
64.8
152.9
26.4
223.0
123.0
1998-99
334.4
21.5
445.8
66.0
156.7
22.7
225.2
131.4
1999-2000
319.7
19.9
510.0
86.0
156.4
24.2
256.9
139.3

GROSS VALUE OF PRODUCTION ($m)

1994-95
269.8
28.8
214.8
50.0
73.4
31.9
254.7
43.3
1995-96
305.3
30.7
219.5
50.3
90.7
33.4
224.9
36.4
1996-97
378.4
39.1
256.3
60.1
106.2
38.6
216.6
39.3
1997-98
272.7
31.0
257.9
53.4
107.8
44.1
230.3
37.3
1998-99
321.1
27.9
296.2
65.5
112.4
42.4
266.3
39.4
1999-2000
273.7
31.8
276.4
74.3
72.1
43.4
283.8
43.7

(a) Excludes Nashi.

Source: Agriculture, Australia (7113.0).


Grapes

Grapes are a temperate crop requiring predominantly winter rainfall and warm to hot summer conditions for ripening. Freedom from late spring frosts is essential to prevent the loss of the developing fruit. Grapes are grown for winemaking, drying and, to a lesser extent, for table use. Some of the better known grape producing areas are the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Riverland, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra in South Australia; Sunraysia and the Yarra Valley in Victoria; the Hunter and Riverina in New South Wales; the Swan Valley and Margaret River in Western Australia; and the Tamar Valley and Coal River Valley in Tasmania.

The gross value of grape production for 1999-2000 decreased by 7% to $1.1b (table 16.29). Table 16.30 shows the area of vines and the grapes produced by grape variety.


16.29 VITICULTURE, Area, Production and Value

Area(a)

Production of grapes(b) used for

Total production(c)

Year
Bearing


’000 ha.
Total


’000 ha.
Winemaking

’000 t
fresh weight
Drying

’000 t

fresh weight
Quantity

’000 t
fresh weight
Gross value


$m

1994-95
63
73
578
147
769
511.0
1995-96
65
81
782
248
1,087
714.4
1996-97
72
90
743
136
943
721.4
1997-98
78
99
871
177
1,112
998.2
1998-99
95
123
1,076
119
1,266
1,200.1
1999-2000
111
140
1,111
133
1,311
1,118.2

(a) At harvest.
(b) Excludes the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
(c) Includes grapes used for table and other purposes.

Source: Agriculture, Australia (7113.0).


16.30 VITICULTURE, Area and Production - 1999-2000(a)

Area of vines at harvest

Production of grapes used for

Variety

Bearing
ha.

Not yet
bearing
ha.

All vines
ha.
Winemaking

tonnes
fresh
weight
Drying

tonnes
fresh
weight
Other

tonnes
fresh
weight
Total

tonnes
fresh
weight

Red grapes
- Cabernet Sauvignon
18,711
7,175
25,886
156,527
64
17
156,609
- Currant (including Carina)
816
82
898
3,553
8,858
26
12,437
- Grenache
2,012
376
2,388
22,855
9
37
22,901
- Mataro
731
292
1,024
r8,812
5
143
8,960
- Pinot Noir
2,686
1,005
3,690
19,202
-
4
19,205
- Shiraz
22,872
8,337
31,209
221,015
46
185
221,246
- Other red grapes
12,057
6,218
18,275
102,161
454
18,957
121,573
- Total red grapes
59,885
23,485
83,370
534,125
9,436
19,369
562,930
White grapes
- Chardonnay
16,588
1,320
17,908
200,945
148
-
201,094
- Doradillo
285
4
288
6,088
5
1
6,094
- Muscat Gordo Blanco
2,645
155
2,800
55,466
3,219
320
59,005
- Palomino and Pedro Ximenes
255
21
276
3,527
9
7
3,543
- Riesling
3,057
448
3,505
26,725
47
-
26,772
- Semillon
5,677
605
6,281
75,055
201
75
75,331
- Sultana
11,554
1,141
12,695
92,323
117,089
27,898
237,310
- Waltham Cross
373
18
391
1,366
2,227
1,071
4,664
- Other white grapes
10,304
2,041
12,347
115,525
1,073
18,050
134,646
- Total white grapes
50,738
5,753
56,491
577,020
124,018
47,422
748,459
Total grapes
110,623
29,238
139,861
1,111,145
133,454
66,791
1,311,389

(a) Excludes the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, where varietal data are not collected.

Source: Australian Wine and Grape Industry, 2000 (1329.0); ABS data available on request, Vineyards Collection.



Previous PageNext Page