Agribusiness in Australia: Market Size, Businesses & Forecast 2026

The agribusiness industry in Australia encompasses the production, processing, and distribution of agricultural commodities, including broadacre crops, livestock, and horticulture products. The industry is highly export-oriented, with approximately 70% of its total output sent to international markets to meet growing global demand for protein and food staples. Following a period of record growth, official data indicates that farm gate agricultural production value reached an all-time record of $101.4 billion in 2025-26, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). The sector is entering a transitional phase, with ABARES forecasting a 5% mod

Industry snapshot

Key public data points

Get in touch and our analysts will be happy to help with custom market sizing, deeper segmentation, supplier detail or a bespoke study built for you.

What does the Agribusiness in Australia industry cover?

Agribusiness in Australia represents the full commercial value chain of food and fibre production. It extends from the supply of agricultural inputs like fertilisers and machinery to primary on-farm production and subsequent downstream processing and wholesaling. The scope captures massive grazing and cropping zones across diverse climate bands, supplying both essential domestic provisions and high-value commodities for global export markets.

• •Primary production utilized 439 million hectares of land across Australia as of December 2023, representing 57.1% of national land use according to ABARES.
• •The sector was a core contributor to national resource utilization, consuming 11,760 gigalitres of water in 2023-24, which equates to 68.3% of national water consumption.
• •On-farm operations accounted for 2.2% of national gross domestic product (GDP) value added and employed 308,000 people in 2024-25.

Who operates in the industry and how is it structured?

The sector's primary on-farm segment is characterized by a high volume of family-owned and corporate broadacre holdings, while downstream processing and bulk handling are more consolidated. Broadacre grain farming and livestock enterprises form the backbone of the market structure. The physical infrastructure relies heavily on specialized logistics networks to move large volumes from rural hubs to major coastal ports.

• •The total cattle herd population across Australian agricultural holdings reached 29.7 million head at 30 June 2025, which included 27.6 million beef cattle and 2.1 million dairy cattle.
• •The winter cropping landscape saw a consolidation in operator numbers, with the total number of businesses selling wheat falling by 2% to 19,435 during the 2024-25 financial year.
• •Oilseed marketing operations contracted slightly as the number of businesses actively selling canola fell by 9% to 10,130 operators in 2024-25.

What drives demand in the industry?

Demand for Australian agribusiness products is heavily influenced by international trade dynamics, population growth, and shifting consumer preferences in emerging Asian markets. Rising incomes in middle-class overseas markets have intensified the demand for high-quality red meat and fresh horticultural produce. Domestic demand remains stable but is increasingly responsive to retail price fluctuations and product substitution.

• •International trade drove 12.4% of total Australian goods and services exports in 2024-25, yielding an export value of $80.2 billion according to ABARES.
• •High international demand and high throughput drove record animal sales to abattoirs, with beef producers receiving a record revenue of $20.43 billion in the 2025 calendar year.
• •Consumer demand for affordable protein varieties saw local poultry disposal values rise steadily by 2.2% to reach $4.1 billion in the 2024-25 period.

Who are the notable companies in the industry?

The competitive environment features large, publicly listed corporate entities that manage large-scale corporate farming assets, grain handling logistics, and international marketing networks. These major operators compete for access to arable land, water allocations, and global buyer relationships. Multinationals and domestic public firms coexist alongside localized farming cooperatives to secure domestic feedstocks for processing.

• •GrainCorp Limited operates as a major East Coast grain handler, managing a vast network of storage silos, bulk export terminals, and oilseed processing plants.
• •Elders Limited provides critical agency, regional real estate, financial services, and live export logistics to primary producers across the nation.
• •Australian Agricultural Company Limited (AACo) manages a massive footprint of pastoral properties and feedlots, operating as one of the country's oldest beef producers.
• •Incitec Pivot Limited supplies the industry with critical domestic manufacturing and distribution infrastructure for nitrogen- and phosphate-based fertilisers.

What are the recent trends and outlook?

The industry is adjusting to a drier climate outlook following multiple years of record-breaking rainfall and exceptional yields. High input costs for fuel and fertiliser, paired with an expected drop in average broadacre yields, are projected to squeeze on-farm profit margins. However, sub-sectors like horticulture and select livestock varieties are demonstrating substantial structural resilience.

• •Total crop production value is projected by ABARES to fall by $4.5 billion to $50.9 billion in 2026-27, as winter crop production volumes decline by 21% to 54.5 million tonnes.
• •Average broadacre farm business profits are set to experience a sharp cyclical correction, falling by 70% in 2026-27 due to elevated input costs and lower farm receipts.
• •Horticulture remains a growth bright spot, with the value of fruit, nut, and vegetable production forecast to rise by 3% to reach $19.3 billion in 2026-27.

How is the industry regulated?

Agribusinesses face rigorous regulatory oversight governing biosecurity, environmental land management, water usage rights, and animal welfare standards. Federal and state agencies actively monitor chemical residues, trace livestock movements, and manage competitive practices within agricultural supply chains. Compliance is essential to maintaining preferential tariff access and biosecurity certifications across key global trade agreements.

• •The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) administers mandatory agricultural levies, which fund research, development, and marketing bodies.
• •The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) monitors compliance with the mandatory Dairy Code of Conduct to ensure fair trading practices between dairy farmers and processors.
• •State-level compliance bodies, such as Safe Food Production Queensland and PrimeSafe Victoria, strictly regulate meat and poultry processing facilities to guarantee safety standards.

Government, statistical and trade sources used for this Claight analysis.

• ABARES Agricultural Commodities Report June 2026 ·
• ABARES Snapshot of Australian Agriculture 2026 ·
• ABS Australian Agriculture: Broadacre Crops 2024-25 ·
• ABS Australian Agriculture: Livestock 2024-25 ·
• Meat & Livestock Australia ABS Data Release 2025