Dairy and Grain Production in Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a former British colony and currently a parliamentary democracy under the (British) Commonwealth of Nations. Located in Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. With a total territory of almost 8 million square kilometers, the country is somewhat smaller than the 48 continental United States. Geographically, Australia is mainly a semiarid plateau with scattered desserts and fertile plains. Being an archipelago nation with one main island, the country has a superb coastline of almost 26.000 kilometers.
Currently, Australia has a total population of some 23 million citizens, about 90% of which live in an urban setting, notably the coastal cities of Sidney, Brisbane Melbourne, Perth, and Canberra (capital). Australia’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) is approximately US$1.2 trillion and its national economy has experienced growth upwards of 2.0% in recent years, making it one of the twenty largest economies in the world and a member of the G20. The national economy is divided into 4% agriculture, 28% manufacturing, and 68% services. Similarly, the Australian agricultural industry employs 4% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs 21% and services employ another 75%. Meanwhile, the agriculture industry utilizes some 54% of the national territory, while another 19% is forested.
In terms of natural resources, Australia has coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, and petroleum. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on mining, industrial & transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, and steel. Meanwhile, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, and poultry. In terms of trade, Australia has numerous free trade agreements and belongs to the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which would create the largest trade zone in Asia with 16 member nations. Likewise, Australia’s main trade partners are China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
Dairy and Grain Production in Australia
In recent years, the average per capita protein intake of animal origin amongst the Australian population has been of 69 grams daily. Similarly, cereals, roots, and tubers supply some 25% of the average food energy intake in the country. Meanwhile, dairy production in Australia has decreased in recent years. Back in 2015, the country produced about 9.8 million metric tons of liquid milk, which then decreased to 9.4 million in 2016. Furthermore, liquid milk production in Australia is expected to yield 9.1 million metric tons during 2017. Simultaneously, cheese production has gone from 324.000 metric tons annually during 2015 and 2016, respectively, to a forecast production of 320.000 metric tons for 2017. Likewise, butter output has gone from 120.000 metric tons in 2015 and 86.000 metric tons in 2016 to an expected output of 80.000 metric tons for 2017.
Conversely, cereals production in the country has increased throughout the last half century. In 1961, the cereals market in Australia utilized almost 8.5 million hectares and yielded over 9.1 million metric tons. Meanwhile, in 2014, the industry used approximately 18 million hectares of land and produced a total of more than 38 million metric tons of cereals.