Victoria's agriculture and food industries

Overview of Victoria’s agriculture

Victoria’s gross value of agriculture production (GVAP) reached a new record high of $20.2 billion in 2021–22.
This was an impressive growth of 15 per cent or $2.7 billion on the previous year’s GVAP.
In 2021–22, Victoria accounted for 23 per cent of Australia’s GVAP, making Victoria Australia’s second largest agricultural producer after New South Wales (26%)

In 2021–22, there were around 154,000 people employed in Victoria’s agriculture production and manufacturing sectors – 69,000 in primary production and 85,000 in food and beverage manufacturing. More than 75 per cent of employment in agriculture production is in regional Victoria.

There were 21,300 farm businesses in Victoria in 2021–22, managing around 11 million hectares or 50 per cent of the state’s total land area.

Victoria’s agriculture industry fast facts

Victoria’s most valuable commodities in 2021–22 were grains ($4.18 billion), horticulture for human consumption ($3.93 billion), dairy ($3.02 billion), beef ($2.94 billion), and sheep meat ($2.16 billion).
Of all the commodities, only hay and silage and pig meat experienced a decline in their GVAP.

The industry fast facts are currently being updated with 2021–22 data and will be available by the end of March 2024.

Victoria’s food and fibre export performance

Victoria’s food and fibre exports reached a record high, valued at $19.6 billion in 2022-23 – a 7 per cent increase on the previous year.
The 2022-23 results cemented Victoria’s position as Australia's largest food and fibre exporter by value, accounting for 24 per cent of the national total.
Victoria’s top five food and fibre exports were grain ($5.6 billion), meat ($4.5 billion), dairy ($2.5 billion), animal fibre ($2.3 billion) and horticulture ($1.6 billion).

The key markets were China ($4.7 billion), Japan ($1.7 billion), the USA ($1.6 billion), New Zealand ($1.1 billion) and Indonesia ($1 billion) were Victoria’s most valuable food and fibre markets in 2022-23, accounting for around 52 per cent of Victoria’s food and fibre exports.

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

Farm-level economic performance data

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

Victorian agriculture interactive map

This interactive map provides access to a wide range of agricultural data including processing and production information for the different industry sectors as well as environmental and infrastructure data.