Australian Agriculture Hits $100 Billion Farmgate Industry Milestone

The National Farmers' Federation hosted a reception at Parliament House to celebrate Australian agriculture reaching a $101.4 billion farmgate industry valuation for 2025-26. This figure surpasses a $100 billion target established by the federation in 2018, marking a nominal increase from approximately $59.9 billion in 2017-18.

Growth was concentrated in three primary sectors: livestock slaughter, which saw the largest dollar increase of $16.7 billion; broadacre cropping, which grew by $15 billion; and horticulture, which added roughly $7.8 billion. In contrast, the wool, industrial crops, and live exports sectors collectively declined by nearly $3 billion. Analysis indicates that the achievement was driven largely by market forces, seasonal conditions, and commodity prices rather than the target itself, as the required 4.4% annual growth closely mirrored the industry's long-run growth rate of 4.3% since 2000.

Economic evaluations suggest the milestone is heavily influenced by inflation. Approximately 44% of the nominal increase—roughly $18 billion—is attributable to general inflation. Adjusted for the Consumer Price Index, the real increase in purchasing power is closer to 30% rather than the nominal 69%. Furthermore, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences expects the industry value to drop below $100 billion in 2026-27 due to easing crop and livestock values, highlighting the volatility of using gross production value as a success metric.