Victoria’s agriculture and food industries

Overview of Victoria’s agriculture industry

Victoria is a significant producer, processor and exporter of agriculture, food and fibre products. In 2023-24 Victoria’s gross value of agricultural production reached a record high of $22.2 billion, and Victoria's food and fibre exports also reached a record high of $20.1 billion.

Victoria is home to Australia’s largest agriculture and food processing workforce with 150,700 people employed, around 73,000 in agriculture and 77,700 in food and fibre processing (2022-23).

Victoria’s agriculture sector supports 21,300 farm businesses and manages around 11 million hectares, or half of the state’s land (2021–22).

View a map of Victoria’s regions by gross value of agricultural production.

Gross value of agricultural production

Victoria’s estimated gross value of agricultural production (GVAP) is $22.2 billion (in 2023-24). This is 1.9% ($0.4 billion) higher than 2022-23 and is 26% of Australia's total GVAP.

The most valuable farm commodities in Victoria in 2023-24 were:

grains ($4.6 billion)
horticulture ($4.6 billion)
dairy ($3.8 billion)
beef ($2.9 billion)
sheep meat ($2.0 billion).

Figure 1: Gross value of agricultural production in Victoria ($billion)

Column chart showing gross value of agricultural production in Victoria over a 5 year period. Gross value in Victoria has risen since 2019-20 from $17.8 billion to $22.2 billion in 2023-24. More detail provided in Table 1.

Source: ABS 2025 (livestock, horticulture, broadacre crops) supplemented by analysis by Agriculture Victoria.
Note: e indicates estimate, especially for some minor commodities.

Table 1: Gross value of agricultural production in Victoria

Commodity	GVAP 2022-23 ($m)	GVAP (e) 2023-24 ($m)	% of total (2023-24)	Change from 2022-23 ($m)	Change from 2022-23 (%)
Dairy	3,766	3,834	17.2	68.2	1.8
Beef	2,978	2,854	12.8	-124.5	-4.2
Sheep – meat	2,044	2,048	9.2	4.4	0.2
Wool	696	642	2.9	-54.4	-7.8
Grains	4,561	4,644	20.9	83.3	1.8
Hay and silage (e)	674	819	3.7	144.7	21.5
Horticulture	4,332	4,619	20.8	287.3	6.6
Nurseries & floriculture	1,049	1,002	4.5	-46.5	-4.4
Pig	344	405	1.8	61.3	17.8
Poultry – meat and eggs	1,280	1,314	5.9	33.5	2.6
Other livestock	95	63	0.3	-32.0	-33.7
Total agriculture	21,819	22,244	100%	425.4	1.9%

Source: ABS 2025 (livestock, horticulture, broadacre crops) supplemented by analysis by Agriculture Victoria.
Note: e indicates estimate, especially for some minor commodities.

Agriculture production volumes

In 2023-24, production increased for all farm commodities except wool. Beef had the biggest jump, rising by 31%, or over 117,000 extra tonnes.

Figure 2: Change in production from 2022-23 to 2023-24

Bar chart showing year-on-year percentage change from 2022-23 to 2023-24 for agriculture commodities in Victoria. All commodities increased from 2022-23 to 2023-24 except wool, which declined 6.3%. Beef had the largest positive change, increasing 31% from 2022-23 to 2023-24. More detail provided in Table 2.

Source: ABS 2025 (livestock, horticulture, broadacre crops); Australian Wool Innovation (2024); Dairy Australia (2025); Eggs Australia (2025).
Note: e indicates estimate.

Table 2: Production by commodity

Commodity	Unit	2022–23	2023–24	Unit change from 2022–23	% change from 2022–23
Dairy	L (million)	5,141	5,296	155	3.0
Beef	tonnes	380,728	498,591	117,863	31.0
Sheep - meat	tonnes	367,019	441,879	74,860	20.4
Wool	MKg greasy	70	66	-4	-6.3
Grains	tonnes	9,779,279	10,699,132	919,853	9.4
Hay and silage (e)	tonnes	3,390,000	4,010,105	620,105	18.3
Horticulture	tonnes	1,749,508	1,931,122	181,614	10.4
Pig	tonnes	97,326	108,784	11,458	11.8
Poultry – meat	tonnes	271,704	275,469	3,765	1.4
Poultry – eggs	dozen ('000)	108,000	129,741	21,741	20.1

Source: ABS 2025 (livestock, horticulture, broadacre crops); Australian Wool Innovation (2024); Dairy Australia (2025); Eggs Australia (2025).
Note: e indicates estimate.

Victoria’s food and fibre exports

Victoria’s food and fibre exports reached a record high of $20.1 billion in 2023-24 - a 3% increase on the previous year. These results cemented Victoria’s position as Australia's largest food and fibre exporter by value, accounting for 27% of the national total.

Victoria's top 5 food and fibre exports are:

meat ($5.7 billion)
grain ($4.9 billion)
dairy ($2.5 billion)
animal fibre ($2.1 billion)
horticulture ($1.5 billion).

Victoria's food and fibre export commodities were traded in 172 countries, with China remaining the most valuable market. Victoria’s top 5 food and fibre export market destinations in 2023-24 accounted for around 47% of Victoria’s total food and fibre exports. Ranked by value, they are:

China ($4.8 billion)
United States ($2.1 billion)
Japan ($1.9 billion)
New Zealand ($1.0 billion)
Indonesia ($1.0 billion).

Key highlights of Victoria’s food and fibre exports, including a downloadable summary, data tables, and an interactive dashboard, can be accessed on Global Victoria’s export page. Support for exporters can be found on our Export page.

Employment

In 2022-23, there were around 150,700 people employed in Victoria’s agriculture and food and fibre processing sectors. This includes around 73,000 in agriculture and 77,700 in food and fibre processing.

Victoria has the largest agriculture workforce in Australia with a 26.3% share, with NSW in second place at 25.6%. More than 85% of employment in agriculture is in regional Victoria.

Figure 3: Agriculture employment by state and territory (total number of jobs, 2022-23)

Bar chart showing the number of people employed in agriculture in each Australian state and territory in 2022-23. The chart shows Victoria as having the largest overall workforce with around 73,000 jobs, followed by New South Wales and then Queensland.

Source: Agriculture Victoria RISE model (2025), informed by ABS (2023) Labour Force Survey.

Figure 4: Agriculture employment in Victoria (total number of jobs, 2022-23)

Bar chart showing the number of people employed in different agriculture sectors in Victoria in 2022-23. The chart shows beef cattle farms as having the largest overall workforce in Victoria. This is followed by grain farms, then sheep and dairy cattle. The sector with the smallest employment is winegrape growing.

Source: Agriculture Victoria RISE model (2025), informed by ABS (2023) Labour Force Survey.
Note: Other agriculture includes hay and silage, nurseries, turf and cut flowers.

Figure 5: Employment in agriculture and food and fibre processing sectors, as a proportion of total employment by Local Government Area (2021)

A map of Victoria showing Local Government Areas (LGAs). Darker shades show a higher share of agri-food jobs compared to total jobs in that area. Western Victoria has mostly higher share of jobs, with West Wimmera highlighted as the highest at 44.2%. Melbourne and nearby areas show lower shares of agri-food employment

Source: ABS Census (2021)

Table 3: Total employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing (AFF) and food and fibre processing by regional partnership (2022-23)

Regional partnership	Agriculture, forestry and fishing (AFF)	Food and fibre processing	Total	% of all jobs in the region
Barwon	3,561	5,501	9,062	5.9
Central Highlands	5,185	2,977	8,161	9.6
Gippsland	11,133	6,396	17,529	11.9
Goulburn	9,176	4,351	13,527	15.9
Great South Coast	10,393	3,339	13,732	19.4
Greater Melbourne	12,863	69,992	82,855	3.0
Loddon Campaspe	7,914	8,181	16,095	10.9
Mallee	10,480	2,074	12,555	19.5
Ovens Murray	5,362	5,081	10,443	13.8
Wimmera & Southern Mallee	5,709	1,038	6,747	20.9
Total	81,777	108,930	190,707	5.3

Source: Agriculture Victoria RISE model (2025), based on ABS Labour Force Survey (2022-23).

For a break-down of the industry divisions in Table 3 by industry sub-divisions, refer to Tables 4 and 5 below.

Table 4: Employment in AFF by regional partnership (2022-23)

Regional partnership	Agriculture	AFF Support Services	Aquaculture	Fishing, hunting and trapping	Forestry and logging	Total
Barwon	3,063	273	30	83	113	3,561
Central Highlands	4,668	453	-	-	64	5,185
Gippsland	9,876	698	11	114	434	11,133
Goulburn	8,404	685	16	26	46	9,176
Great South Coast	9,347	763	20	23	240	10,393
Greater Melbourne	10,683	1,718	60	108	294	12,863
Loddon Campaspe	7,359	534	-	-	21	7,914
Mallee	9,296	1,175	2	-	9	10,480
Ovens Murray	4,885	308	2	-	167	5,362
Wimmera & Southern Mallee	5,446	261	1	-	-	5,709
Total	73,026	6,868	141	355	1,387	81,777

Source: Agriculture Victoria RISE model (2025), based on ABS Labour Force Survey (2022-23).

Table 5: Employment in food and fibre processing by regional partnership (2022-23)

Regional partnership	Food products	Beverage products	Wood products	Pulp, paper and converted paper products	Textile, leather, clothing and footwear	Total
Barwon	3,119	429	1,018	66	869	5,501
Central Highlands	2,134	336	344	2	161	2,977
Gippsland	3,597	201	915	1,537	147	6,396
Goulburn	3,630	357	213	129	22	4,351
Great South Coast	2,854	69	316	3	97	3,339
Greater Melbourne	41,587	5,914	7,212	5,466	9,814	69,992
Loddon Campaspe	6,732	549	391	-	508	8,181
Mallee	1,144	655	119	54	103	2,074
Ovens Murray	2,492	949	1,166	172	301	5,081
Wimmera & Southern Mallee	872	105	25	-	36	1,038
Total	68,160	9,564	11,719	7,429	12,058	108,930

Source: Agriculture Victoria RISE model (2025), based on ABS Labour Force Survey (2022-23).

Table 6: Employment in food and fibre, year on year growth and industry proportions

Industry	Employment in 2022-23	Growth rate 2021-22 to 2022-23 (%) *	Average CAGRFY16 to FY21 (%) *	% of AFF, 2022-23	Share of Food and Fibre Processing, 2022-23 (%)
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (AFF) total	81,777	0.9	1.3	100.0
Agriculture	73,026	1.7	1.0	89.3
AFF Support Services	6,868	-2.8	5.8	8.4
Aquaculture*	141	-32.2	1.2	0.2
Fishing, Hunting and Trapping*	355	27.0	-3.8	0.4
Forestry and Logging	1,387	-16.4	2.0	1.7
Food and Fibre Processing total	108,930	42.3	1.2		100.0
Food Products	68,160	0.3	1.9		62.6
Beverage Products	9,564	11.4	2.5		8.8
Wood Products	11,719	-6.6	-1.5		10.8
Pulp, Paper and Converted Paper Products	7,429	0.0	-0.3		6.8
Textile, Leather, Clothing and Footwears	12,058	-6.9	-1.6		11.1
All Food and Fibre Production and Processing	190,707	0.1	1.2

Source: Agriculture Victoria RISE model (2025), based on ABS Labour Force Survey (2022 and 2023); ABS Census of Population and Housing (2016 and 2021).
* Indicates small sample size. Growth rate 2021-22 to 2022-23 may be unreliable. The Census trend (2016 to 2021) provides a more reliable guide of trends.

Farm business numbers

In 2021–22, there were around 21,300 farm businesses in Victoria. The ABS counts a farm as a business if its gross income averages at least $40,000 a year.

Table 7: Number of farm businesses by detailed commodity in Victoria (2020-21)

Industry (ANZSIC)	Sub-category (ANZSIC)	Number of farms	% of sub-category	% of industry
Dairy	Dairy	3,397	15.7	15.7
Beef	Specialised (broadacre)	5,350	24.8	24.8
Beef	Feedlots	11	0.1	24.8
Sheep	Specialised	3,627	16.8	22.3
Sheep	Sheep with beef cattle*	1,178	5.5	22.3
Broadacre cropping	Grain growing	2,212	10.2	22.0
	Mixed cropping (with sheep and/or beef cattle)	2,181	10.1
	Other broadacre cropping	360	1.7
Horticulture (edible, fruit and nuts)	Apple and pear growing	161	0.7	7.1
	Berry fruit growing	91	0.4
	Citrus fruit growing	90	0.4
	Kiwifruit growing	11	0.1
	Olive growing	51	0.2
	Stone fruit growing	172	0.8
	Grape growing	814	3.8
	Other fruit and tree nut growing	137	0.6
Horticulture (edible, vegetables)	Vegetable growing (outdoors)	561	2.6	2.9
	Vegetable growing (under cover)	47	0.2
	Mushroom growing	17	0.1
Horticulture (amenity)	Floriculture production (outdoors)	76	0.4	1.6
	Floriculture production (under cover)	68	0.3
	Nursery production (outdoors)	106	0.5
	Nursery production (under cover)	61	0.3
	Turf growing	30	0.1
Other livestock	Pigs	90	0.4	3.6
	Poultry – eggs	100	0.5
	Poultry – meat	144	0.7
	Beekeeping	57	0.3
	Deer	20	0.1
	Horses	281	1.3
	Other livestock	94	0.4
Total		21,592	100.0	100.0

Source: ABS (2021) Agriculture Census.
Note: Data on the number of farm businesses that is more recent than 2020–21 is available for dairy and broadacre farming only, via ABARES Farm Data Portal 2025.

Area and land use

The area of land used for agricultural production in Victoria was 10.7 million hectares in 2021–22, or 48% of the state’s total land. This represents 3% of Australia’s total agricultural land area.

Farm-level economic performance data

For data and information on farm-level economic performance visit Agriculture Victoria's websites for the Dairy Farm Monitor Project and Livestock Farm Monitor Project.

Page last updated: 02 Apr 2026