Yields of important staple crops in New Zealand
New Zealand: Yields of important staple crops was 10.01 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
10.01 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 3.6%
World rank
1st
of 126 countries
All-time high
10.01 tonnes per hectare
in 2024
All-time low
2.65 tonnes per hectare
in 1970
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yields of important staple crops in New Zealand, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
In 2024, yields of important staple crops in New Zealand stood at 10.01 tonnes per hectare. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.6% on the previous year and up 16.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yields of important staple crops in New Zealand peaked at 10.01 tonnes per hectare in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.65 tonnes per hectare, in 1970.
New Zealand ranks 1st of 126 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Yields of important staple crops in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.35 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 2.83 tonnes per hectare | -15.6% |
| 1963 | 2.73 tonnes per hectare | -3.6% |
| 1964 | 3.32 tonnes per hectare | +21.7% |
| 1965 | 3.36 tonnes per hectare | +1.3% |
| 1966 | 3.61 tonnes per hectare | +7.5% |
| 1967 | 3.73 tonnes per hectare | +3.1% |
| 1968 | 3.49 tonnes per hectare | -6.3% |
| 1969 | 3.54 tonnes per hectare | +1.2% |
| 1970 | 2.65 tonnes per hectare | -25.1% |
| 1971 | 3.34 tonnes per hectare | +26.1% |
| 1972 | 3.65 tonnes per hectare | +9.2% |
| 1973 | 3.49 tonnes per hectare | -4.2% |
| 1974 | 3.18 tonnes per hectare | -8.9% |
| 1975 | 3.12 tonnes per hectare | -2.0% |
| 1976 | 3.74 tonnes per hectare | +19.9% |
| 1977 | 3.68 tonnes per hectare | -1.7% |
| 1978 | 3.61 tonnes per hectare | -1.8% |
| 1979 | 3.39 tonnes per hectare | -6.3% |
| 1980 | 3.56 tonnes per hectare | +5.1% |
| 1981 | 4.01 tonnes per hectare | +12.7% |
| 1982 | 4.08 tonnes per hectare | +1.9% |
| 1983 | 4.24 tonnes per hectare | +3.9% |
| 1984 | 4.58 tonnes per hectare | +7.9% |
| 1985 | 4.31 tonnes per hectare | -5.9% |
| 1986 | 4.16 tonnes per hectare | -3.5% |
| 1987 | 4.06 tonnes per hectare | -2.3% |
| 1988 | 4.07 tonnes per hectare | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 3.57 tonnes per hectare | -12.3% |
| 1990 | 4.88 tonnes per hectare | +36.9% |
| 1991 | 4.81 tonnes per hectare | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 5.05 tonnes per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1993 | 5.37 tonnes per hectare | +6.2% |
| 1994 | 5.41 tonnes per hectare | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 4.68 tonnes per hectare | -13.5% |
| 1996 | 5.47 tonnes per hectare | +16.9% |
| 1997 | 5.66 tonnes per hectare | +3.4% |
| 1998 | 6.22 tonnes per hectare | +9.8% |
| 1999 | 6.06 tonnes per hectare | -2.5% |
| 2000 | 6.21 tonnes per hectare | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 7.43 tonnes per hectare | +19.6% |
| 2002 | 7.15 tonnes per hectare | -3.8% |
| 2003 | 7.49 tonnes per hectare | +4.8% |
| 2004 | 6.55 tonnes per hectare | -12.5% |
| 2005 | 8.09 tonnes per hectare | +23.5% |
| 2006 | 6.9 tonnes per hectare | -14.8% |
| 2007 | 8.5 tonnes per hectare | +23.2% |
| 2008 | 8.11 tonnes per hectare | -4.5% |
| 2009 | 7.49 tonnes per hectare | -7.6% |
| 2010 | 8.12 tonnes per hectare | +8.4% |
| 2011 | 7.29 tonnes per hectare | -10.3% |
| 2012 | 8.92 tonnes per hectare | +22.5% |
| 2013 | 9.11 tonnes per hectare | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 8.63 tonnes per hectare | -5.3% |
| 2015 | 8.67 tonnes per hectare | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 9.2 tonnes per hectare | +6.1% |
| 2017 | 9.86 tonnes per hectare | +7.3% |
| 2018 | 8.96 tonnes per hectare | -9.2% |
| 2019 | 8.85 tonnes per hectare | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 9.93 tonnes per hectare | +12.2% |
| 2021 | 9.71 tonnes per hectare | -2.2% |
| 2022 | 9.39 tonnes per hectare | -3.3% |
| 2023 | 9.67 tonnes per hectare | +3.0% |
| 2024 | 10.01 tonnes per hectare | +3.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.33 tonnes per hectare | 2.73 tonnes per hectare | 3.73 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.38 tonnes per hectare | 2.65 tonnes per hectare | 3.74 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.06 tonnes per hectare | 3.56 tonnes per hectare | 4.58 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.36 tonnes per hectare | 4.68 tonnes per hectare | 6.22 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.39 tonnes per hectare | 6.21 tonnes per hectare | 8.5 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.76 tonnes per hectare | 7.29 tonnes per hectare | 9.86 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.74 tonnes per hectare | 9.39 tonnes per hectare | 10.01 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More agriculture & rural data for New Zealand
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -10.07 % change on previous year (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0401 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,976 current US$ per person (2023)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.275 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.16 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.0% (2023)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.0% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 9.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yields of important staple crops in New Zealand?
- Yields of important staple crops in New Zealand was 10.01 tonnes per hectare in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest yields of important staple crops recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 10.01 tonnes per hectare in 2024.
- What is the lowest yields of important staple crops recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.65 tonnes per hectare in 1970.
- How does New Zealand rank for yields of important staple crops?
- New Zealand ranks 1st out of 126 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yields of important staple crops rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.1%. 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) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Yields of important staple crops. 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
Harvested production per unit of harvested area for wheat.