The Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook is the leading resource for Australian horticulture statistics and market information. It is an analysis that combines all available data on production, international trade, processing volumes and fresh market distribution to produce statistics on more than 70 horticultural categories. The sixth edition of the Handbook was released in February 2021, unpacking the sector’s performance during the 2019/20 year.

The latest Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook has officially been launched, offering the most comprehensive and contemporary data available on all sectors of the Australian horticulture industry in one easy-to-read guide.

The Handbook features more than 470 pages of information drawn from several supply chain sources, including international trade statistics and industry peak bodies. It includes data on more than 70 horticultural products including fruit, nuts, vegetables, nursery, turf and cut flowers.

The data shows that the horticulture sector overall exceeded $15 billion in value in 2019/20, despite the challenging times. Although volume has gone down by 1.5 per cent due to seasonal conditions such as drought and bushfires, value increased by 4.5 per cent, from $14.4 billion to $15.1 billion.

Promising data

Hort Innovation Head of Data and Insights Adam Briggs said that this growth shows that despite price increases, consumers are still supporting and purchasing Aussie fruit, vegetables and nuts.

Mr Briggs added that while COVID-19 represented challenges, such as the disruption of export supply chains, the industry showed great resilience in its response.

“Some industries even experienced an increase in demand, such as sweet corn, which increased in value by 48 per cent from $76.90 million to $113.80 million,” he said.

AUSVEG CEO James Whiteside said the Hort Stats dataset is an important resource that helps industry gain a clearer picture of its production value and volume compared to previous years.

“The Handbook has informed our understanding of the performance of the vegetable and potato industries, and provided growers and industry bodies with important data for government, researchers and decision-makers to support policy formation and contribute to a greater understanding of the broader industry,” Mr Whiteside said.

Hort stats go mobile in 2021

Australia’s preferred source for horticulture statistics by industry and government is not only interactive, but now available to view on-the-go.

The online dashboard format’s accessibility has been made easier, as Adam Briggs explains.

“This year, the handbook will also be mobile phone compatible for the first time – meaning users can access this incredible data anywhere, anytime,” he said.

The Handbook is also available on laptop and desktop computers, and provides an interface for readers to directly interact and extract data at the product category level.

If you cannot access the online dashboard, the original format of the handbook continues to be made available for this edition through PDF documents.

Find out more

To access Hort Innovation’s Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook, please click here. The Handbook’s interactive dashboard is suitable for viewing on desktop computers and mobile phones.

Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook 2018- 19 to 2020-21 has been funded by Hort Innovation using the across industry levy and funds from the Australian Government.

Project Number: HA18002