The latest survey results from national industry body for vegetable producers, AUSVEG, have again shown a third of vegetable growers are considering leaving the industry within the next year, driven by an ongoing cost-of-production crisis and lack of farm profitability.
The survey was open from December 2024 to February 2025, and responses contained a range of worrying indicators that have been regularly recorded in the six-monthly surveys conducted by AUSVEG since 2023.
Key findings which continue to raise concerns about the future supply of Australian-grown fresh vegetables include:
- An average of 32 per cent of growers across all sentiment surveys since 2023 considering leaving the industry.
- An additional third of growers in the most recent survey not currently considering leaving would change that position if they were offered a fair price to sell their farm – meaning two thirds of growers surveyed would stop growing vegetables if the right exit strategy arose.
- Almost 50 per cent of growers were again financially worse-off than a year ago.
- Almost 40 per cent of growers expected to be financially worse-off in another year’s time, compared to 28 per cent in the middle of 2024.
- Growers are continuing to delay or reduce investing in capital infrastructure improvements (81 per cent), innovation and productivity improvements (56 per cent) and maintenance of assets (46 per cent).
- Nearly 50 per cent of respondents indicated they were experiencing workplace shortages in all roles – compared to 33 per cent in the mid-2024 survey.
- Labour costs continued to represent a major proportion of overall business expenditure, averaging 41 per cent of a grower’s overall cost of production, and reaching as high as 72 per cent.
Rising input costs, poor farmgate returns, workforce shortages, industrial relations changes, lack of funds to invest in innovation, and an overwhelming compliance burden have all been identified as key factors leading growers to reconsider their futures.
Hort Innovation’s Horticulture Statistics Handbook was released last week, showing a $140 million drop in the overall farmgate value of vegetables produced in Australia during 2023-24, despite an increase in overall production.
Australian growers produced an overall 3.83 million tonnes of vegetables in 2023-24, compared to 3.58 million tonnes the previous year, while overall production value dropped to $5.7 billion from $5.84 billion.
The drop in farmgate value means Australian growers overall earned 8 per cent less per kilo of vegetables than the previous year, compounded further by a 3.8 increase in CPI over the same period. In real terms, that equates to a 12 per cent drop in farmgate returns for vegetable growers.
Hort Innovation CEO, Brett Fifield, said the Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook aims to give industry members the data and insights needed to guide decision-making.
“The total value of Australian horticulture production rose 4.3 per cent to $17 billion, reflecting the crucial role horticulture plays in feeding the nation and the Australian economy,” said Fifield.
The protracted toll of the dire business environment on growers saw mental health and wellbeing concerns feature prominently in considerations to leave the industry in the AUSVEG survey.
Losing vegetable growers at anywhere near the scale indicated by the surveys has major implications for future vegetable supply – causing consumer prices to increase and threatening food security in the longer term.
AUSVEG CEO, Michael Coote, said the Handbook reflects the experiences of the vegetable growers, who are continuing to face major challenges in allowing them to stay viable by turning a profit.
“With the handbook again confirming that Australian growers are supplying more than 98 per cent of the fresh vegetables bought and consumed nationally each year, this is another reminder of how critical our sector is to national food security, and the health of all Australians,” said Coote.
With the 2025 Federal election expected to be called any day, these statistics ring alarm bells. AUSVEG is continuing to emphasise the need for measures to secure the long term viability of a vegetable industry.
