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 1). In 2002-03 the area sown to vegetables was 121 200 hectares, a decrease of 8% from the previous year.

Potatoes are by far the largest vegetable crop in terms of both area and production:


TABLE 1 SELECTED VEGETABLES FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION, Area ‘000ha
Year Beans Carrots Onions Green peas
 Lettuces Potatoes*

Pumpkins

 Tomatoes TOTAL

94-95

6.1

6.9

5.2

9.8

4

37.6

5.4

8.7

129.1
95-96 7.1 7.6 5.5 8.2 4.7 41.8 6.6 8.6 131.4
96-97 7.9 7 4.8 9.3 4.7 41.1 6.3 8.8 129.7
97-98 6.6 7.1 5.6 7
5.7
42.6 5.9 8 130.6
98-99 5.9 6.5 5.4 6.2 6.2 41.3 7.5 8.5 130.2
99-00 6.6 7 5.3 5.5 5.2 36.8 9 8.3 127.4
00-01 6.6 8 5 5.8 5.8 39.6 8.3 9.6 137.1
_01-02 6.6 7.7 5.5 6 6 37.9 6.5 8.5 131.7
_02-03 7 7.4 5.3 5.5 6.1 35.9 6.6 7.3 121.2

-*Excludes potatoes for seed.
Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0).


TABLE 2 SELECTED VEGETABLES FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION, ‘000t

Year

Beans

Carrots

Onions

Green

Peas (shelled)

Lettuces

Potatoes*

Pumpkins

TOTAL

94-95

29.4

238.5

200.4

34.6**

92.5

1122.4

76.7

340









95-96

32

249.9

244.5

80.8**

107.2

1308.1

96.5

370.9

96-97

37.6

257.4

196.5

94.2**

110.8

1286.1

87.1

393.1

97-98

35.6

266.5

218.9

34.6

129.1

1371.6

84.8

380.1

98-99

30.4

256.6

224

29.9

131.1

1326.8

87.6

394.4

99-00

34.5

283.3

247.1

30.4

151.9

1199.6

108.8

413.6

00-01

32.8

320.9

221.9

26.2

152.7

1302.1

109.4

556.2

_01-02

33.7

331.1

282.5

28.4

135

1333.2

96.3

425

_02-03

34.6

305.7

228.6

27.4

121.5

1247.3

93.2

364.4

* Excludes potatoes for seed ** statistic not shelled until 97-98


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