Cereal yields in New Zealand
New Zealand: Cereal yields was 9.1 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Cereal yields in New Zealand, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 9.1 tonnes per hectare for cereal yields in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.2% on the previous year and up 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cereal yields in New Zealand peaked at 9.1 tonnes per hectare in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.73 tonnes per hectare, in 1963.
New Zealand ranks 8th of 185 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.3 tonnes per hectare | 2.73 tonnes per hectare | 3.71 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.69 tonnes per hectare | 2.97 tonnes per hectare | 4.16 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.46 tonnes per hectare | 3.94 tonnes per hectare | 4.8 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.61 tonnes per hectare | 5.03 tonnes per hectare | 6.29 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.95 tonnes per hectare | 6.28 tonnes per hectare | 7.92 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.96 tonnes per hectare | 6.95 tonnes per hectare | 8.46 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.76 tonnes per hectare | 8.38 tonnes per hectare | 9.1 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 5 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 13.34 tonnes per hectare compare
- 6 Mauritius 11.89 tonnes per hectare compare
- 7 New Caledonia 11.65 tonnes per hectare compare
- 9 United States 8.41 tonnes per hectare compare
- 10 Reunion 7.78 tonnes per hectare compare
- 11 Bahamas 7.74 tonnes per hectare compare
More agriculture & rural data for New Zealand
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 10.28 billion current US$ (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.0% (2023)
- Rural population 852,066 (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Rural population 16.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 9.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.0% (2023)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.0% (2023)
- Land under cereal production 121,170 hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cereal yields in New Zealand?
- Cereal yields in New Zealand was 9.1 tonnes per hectare 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 yields recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 9.1 tonnes per hectare in 2024.
- What is the lowest cereal yields recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.73 tonnes per hectare in 1963.
- How does New Zealand rank for cereal yields?
- New Zealand ranks 8th out of 185 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cereal yields rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand 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 yields. 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
Measured in tonnes per hectare.