Cereal production in Australia
Australia: Cereal production was 52.35 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
52.35 million tonnes
Change on year
up 21.4%
World rank
14th
of 186 countries
All-time high
59.61 million tonnes
in 2022
All-time low
9.15 million tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Cereal production in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for cereal production in Australia is 52.35 million tonnes, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 21.4% on the previous year and up 44.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cereal production in Australia peaked at 59.61 million tonnes in 2022 and was at its lowest, 9.15 million tonnes, in 1961.
That places Australia 14th out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Cereal production in Australia, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 9.15 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 11.14 million tonnes | +21.8% |
| 1963 | 11.81 million tonnes | +6.0% |
| 1964 | 13.00 million tonnes | +10.1% |
| 1965 | 9.68 million tonnes | -25.5% |
| 1966 | 16.59 million tonnes | +71.3% |
| 1967 | 9.87 million tonnes | -40.5% |
| 1968 | 18.91 million tonnes | +91.5% |
| 1969 | 14.25 million tonnes | -24.6% |
| 1970 | 12.90 million tonnes | -9.4% |
| 1971 | 14.84 million tonnes | +15.0% |
| 1972 | 10.78 million tonnes | -27.3% |
| 1973 | 17.00 million tonnes | +57.7% |
| 1974 | 16.37 million tonnes | -3.7% |
| 1975 | 17.77 million tonnes | +8.5% |
| 1976 | 17.45 million tonnes | -1.8% |
| 1977 | 14.42 million tonnes | -17.4% |
| 1978 | 25.27 million tonnes | +75.3% |
| 1979 | 23.34 million tonnes | -7.6% |
| 1980 | 16.40 million tonnes | -29.7% |
| 1981 | 23.70 million tonnes | +44.5% |
| 1982 | 14.19 million tonnes | -40.2% |
| 1983 | 31.07 million tonnes | +119.0% |
| 1984 | 28.60 million tonnes | -7.9% |
| 1985 | 24.94 million tonnes | -12.8% |
| 1986 | 24.00 million tonnes | -3.8% |
| 1987 | 19.90 million tonnes | -17.1% |
| 1988 | 21.89 million tonnes | +10.0% |
| 1989 | 22.38 million tonnes | +2.2% |
| 1990 | 23.05 million tonnes | +3.0% |
| 1991 | 18.76 million tonnes | -18.6% |
| 1992 | 25.16 million tonnes | +34.1% |
| 1993 | 26.82 million tonnes | +6.6% |
| 1994 | 15.49 million tonnes | -42.2% |
| 1995 | 27.10 million tonnes | +75.0% |
| 1996 | 34.66 million tonnes | +27.9% |
| 1997 | 31.28 million tonnes | -9.8% |
| 1998 | 32.62 million tonnes | +4.3% |
| 1999 | 35.31 million tonnes | +8.3% |
| 2000 | 34.37 million tonnes | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 38.83 million tonnes | +13.0% |
| 2002 | 19.53 million tonnes | -49.7% |
| 2003 | 41.13 million tonnes | +110.6% |
| 2004 | 34.78 million tonnes | -15.4% |
| 2005 | 39.75 million tonnes | +14.3% |
| 2006 | 20.01 million tonnes | -49.7% |
| 2007 | 24.18 million tonnes | +20.8% |
| 2008 | 35.21 million tonnes | +45.6% |
| 2009 | 34.42 million tonnes | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 39.14 million tonnes | +13.7% |
| 2011 | 42.83 million tonnes | +9.4% |
| 2012 | 35.42 million tonnes | -17.3% |
| 2013 | 39.87 million tonnes | +12.6% |
| 2014 | 36.28 million tonnes | -9.0% |
| 2015 | 36.18 million tonnes | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 50.25 million tonnes | +38.9% |
| 2017 | 33.88 million tonnes | -32.6% |
| 2018 | 29.99 million tonnes | -11.5% |
| 2019 | 27.44 million tonnes | -8.5% |
| 2020 | 49.33 million tonnes | +79.8% |
| 2021 | 54.96 million tonnes | +11.4% |
| 2022 | 59.61 million tonnes | +8.5% |
| 2023 | 43.12 million tonnes | -27.7% |
| 2024 | 52.35 million tonnes | +21.4% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 52.35 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.90 million tonnes, 27.6× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Australia's 52.35 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.19 million tonnes, 16.4× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 12.71 million tonnes | 9.15 million tonnes | 18.91 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 17.01 million tonnes | 10.78 million tonnes | 25.27 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 22.71 million tonnes | 14.19 million tonnes | 31.07 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 27.03 million tonnes | 15.49 million tonnes | 35.31 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 32.22 million tonnes | 19.53 million tonnes | 41.13 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.13 million tonnes | 27.44 million tonnes | 50.25 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.87 million tonnes | 43.12 million tonnes | 59.61 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0227 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,476 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5855 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1228 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cereal production in Australia?
- Cereal production in Australia was 52.35 million tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest cereal production recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 59.61 million tonnes in 2022.
- What is the lowest cereal production recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.15 million tonnes in 1961.
- How does Australia rank for cereal production?
- Australia ranks 14th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cereal production rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 44.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Cereal production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Cereals include wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains.