Agribusiness

The agribusiness sector is one of South Australia’s largest industries, with opportunities growing for trade with China, India, the United States and South-East Asia.

Adelaide, South Australia is Australia’s least costly place to set-up and do business, and one of the world's most cost-competitive cities for agribusiness.¹

Team this with one of the world’s most sustainable growing environments and our Mediterranean climate and you have an excellent base for agribusiness operations.

We have an international reputation for quality agricultural and food products:

Snapshot of South Australia’s signature produce

• Seafood – premium shellfish and scale fish, Southern Rock lobster, tuna, prawns, abalone and oysters.
• Fruit and vegetables – export quality produce ranging from oranges, stone fruits, pome fruits and almonds to potatoes, onions and other intensive crops.
• Poultry, meat and game – including lamb, beef, kangaroo and emu.
• Dairy – fresh and long-life milk at world competitive prices and processed products including cheeses, ice cream and desserts.
• Wines and beverages – the largest sub-sector of the industry.
• Cereals and pulses – premium milled grains, maltings and pasta.
• Oils and condiments – world-class olive oil and gourmet condiments.
• Confectionery – gourmet lines using local, natural ingredients.

Output

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing contributed $2.9 billion (4.5%) to the State’s Gross Value Added in 2007-08.²
• Gross Food Revenue was $11.5 billion in 2007-08.³

www.safoodcentre.com/facts

Exports

• $1.2 billion agriculture, forestry and fishing exports and $2.6 billion food and wine manufacturing exports in the year to August 2009, 42.2% of State goods exports.⁴
• Key export markets are Japan, USA, China, Canada, UK and Europe, New Zealand, and East Asia.⁴

Employment

• 41,500 people employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing and 23,250 employed in food and beverage manufacturing in the year to August 2009.⁵
  

Workforce Information Service

Number of businesses

• 22,380 agriculture, forestry and fishing business and 954 food and beverage manufacturers at the end of 2006-07.⁶

Research and development

• South Australia is home to the Waite campus, the largest agricultural research complex in the Southern Hemisphere with an annual research budget exceeding $110 million.
• Waite incorporates several co-operative research centres established with government and industry partners, as well as the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australian Wine Research Institute and South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI).
  

Geographic focus

• Agribusiness operations are located across South Australia.

Case studies

ABB Grain 
T&R Pastoral
Kangaroo Island Abalone
Jacob’s Creek Wine

Industry groups

1. KPMG, Competitive Alternatives, 2008, www.competitivealternatives.com

2. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 5220.0, time series spreadsheet Table 5.

3. Primary Industries and Resources SA, Food Scorecard, 2007-08, www.safoodcentre.com/facts/pages/scorecard

4. Australian Bureau of Statistics, International Trade in Goods and Services, Catalogue 5368.0, spreadsheet 15a, 36d and unpublished, www.abs.gov.au

5. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force, Catalogue 6291.0.55.003, spreadsheet 5 and data cube E06_aug94, www.abs.gov.au

6. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, Catalogue 8165.0, www.abs.gov.au