The ABARES Insights series provides an evidence-based context for discussion of industry issues and complement our current analytical reports, forecasts, and statistical series.
An ABARES Insights paper will complement our deeper and more technical research reports, which are generally aimed at a more specialist audience and seek to expand or deepen the stock of knowledge.
ABARES Insights papers
Addressing environmental harm: reforming agricultural support
This Insights paper discusses the economic mechanisms by which the hundreds of billions of dollars provided annually in agricultural support contribute to increased emissions, biodiversity loss and soil nutrient imbalances. It also highlights options for alternative support policies and presents real-world examples of improved environmental outcomes stemming from agricultural support removal/reform.
Published 28 March 2025
Non-tariff barriers: A multi-billion dollar burden
This Insights paper summarises the impact of non-tariff barriers on agriculture. It also presents new modelling results that highlights that these non-tariff barriers are both equivalent to a 19% tariff on Australian agriculture, and constitute a multi-billion dollar burden on Australian agricultural exports, warranting strong efforts to combat their rise.
Published 18 March 2025
The ‘multi-speed’ industry: Dairy productivity in the spotlight
National dairy farm productivity has slowed considerably, and there has been a reduction in the number of dairy farms over the past three decades. Has the dairy industry fallen off the productivity treadmill or is there more to this story? Once farm data are aggregated into national level statistics the nuances can be easily lost. Untangling the statistics reveals that while productivity on some dairy farms is thriving, on others it appears to be lagging. This report unpacks the story of the multi-speed industry and explores the potential opportunities to unlock future growth.
Published 27 February 2025
Snapshot of Australian Agriculture 2025
This Insights report describes the current state of Australian agriculture, with the aim of providing key information and statistics in one place. It covers eight key aspects of Australian agriculture: its role in the broader economy, trends in production, farm incomes, industry structure and productivity, climate change impacts and risk management, agricultural employment, sustainability and trade
Published 24 February 2025
Previous papers
Foreign Direct Investment in Australian Agriculture
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Australian agriculture, forestry and fisheries offers a wide array of benefits and has also raised community concerns in the past, including apprehensions about the erosion of Australia’s sovereignty, food security and negative impacts on Australian rural communities. This article looks at the trends in FDI in Australia’s agricultural sector, its potential benefits and community concerns, and the range of Australian policies that are involved in its regulation.
Published 17 December 2024
Snapshot of Australian Agriculture 2024
This Insights report describes the current state of Australian agriculture, with the aim of providing key information and statistics in one place. It covers eight key aspects of Australian agriculture: its role in the broader economy, trends in production, farm incomes, industry structure and productivity, climate change impacts and risk management, agricultural employment, sustainability and trade.
Published 5 March 2024
Australia’s farm productivity slowdown — why it matters, and what it means for policy makers
Australian farmers have benefited from a period of sustained productivity growth over the last five decades. However, since 2000, this growth appears to be slowing compared to the productivity gains achieved during the 1980s and 1990s. Finding opportunities to accelerate productivity growth will be important to ensure farmers stay competitive while adapting to future challenges. This article looks at the state-of-play for farm productivity in Australia, including recent drivers of growth, the challenges for farmers and the industry, and the opportunities for the future.
Published 23 July 2024
Snapshot of Australia’s agricultural workforce
The Snapshot of Australia’s agricultural workforce uses data from the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Census of Population and Housing to describe where workers live, what industries and occupations they work in, the workforce’s mobility, educational attainment and age, and hours worked. It also examines the involvement of women, young people, Indigenous people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people with disability in the agricultural workforce.
Published 19 October 2023
Environmental sustainability and agri-environmental indicators – international comparisons
To advance Australia’s strategic multilateral trade liberalisation objectives, Australia has sought to demonstrate the environmental damage caused by agricultural support. Of equal importance, however, is Australia’s own agri-environmental performance. This report provides Australian and international officials with an evidence base to show where Australia stands internationally, and how to interpret such statistics appropriately.
Published 04 July 2023
This two-part ABARES Insights series discusses how the Australian agriculture sector has changed over past decades and have led to its current success and what will shape its future performance.
Published 17 November 2022
Emissions, agricultural support and food security
The report provides an evidence base linking reductions in agricultural support to emissions reduction and improvements in food security, supporting Australia’s global advocacy efforts.
Published 1 November 2022
Reshaping agricultural support to build a competitive agricultural sector
This Insights report summarises evidence to demonstrate that reforming agricultural support and open trade can build a more competitive agricultural sector.
Published 27 July 2022
Food security: the role of international trade and support
The latest ABARES Insight report outlines how governments can take the lead on global food security by opening up trade and cutting export restrictions.
Published 13 July 2022
Food security – the impact of export restrictions
War in Ukraine and poor growing conditions in major exporters have contributed to high global food grain prices. With some countries implementing export restrictions to try and ease domestic food prices, this Insights report looks at the impact of restrictions and how governments can take steps to improve global food security.
Published 28 June 2022
Australia’s future agricultural trade advantage
The latest ABARES Insights report shows Australia will need to find new ways to gain a competitive advantage with its agricultural exports as more countries enter free trade agreements.
Published 16 March 2022
Insights report offers a taste of things to come from booming Indonesian food market
The latest ABARES Insights report examines the drivers of food demand in Indonesia and outlines opportunities for Australian agricultural exporters.
Published 2 December 2021
Australian farmers are adapting to climate change but there is more work ahead
The latest ABARES Insights report examines the effects of recent and possible future changes in climate on the profitability of Australian farms.
Published 29 July 2021
Stocktake of megatrends shaping Australian agriculture: Insights
This ABARES Insights report sets out five megatrends, each of which is framed in terms of three component trends. The megatrends analysis confirms the fundamentals are in place to support agricultural growth, while identifying several challenges to be addressed.
Published 23 February 2021
Value creation in Australia through agricultural exports: playing to advantages
This ABARES Insights report analysis returns across the economy from agricultural exports, comparing different pathways for value creation, such as adding attributes or further downstream processing.
Published 15 December 2020
Opportunities from action on climate change: Insights
Australia’s farmers are well placed to benefit from global market changes as countries and businesses around the world act on and adapt to climate change, the latest ABARES Insights paper has found.
Published 10 December 2020
Free trade, competitiveness and a global world: How trade agreements are shaping agriculture
This paper explores how Australia's agricultural export performance over the past 15 years has been inextricably linked to the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs).
Published 11 September 2020
Analysis of water recovery in the Murray-Darling Basin released
This article provides an overview of the economic effects of water recovery on water prices and the irrigation sector in the southern Murray–Darling Basin (MDB).
Published 1 September 2020
Bushfires and pandemic spell tough road ahead for forestry and wood processing sectors
Major challenges for forestry and wood processors loom in the wake of summer’s bushfires and COVID-19, according to analysis in our latest ABARES Insights report.
Published 30 June 2020
Analysis of Australian agricultural trade and the COVID-19 pandemic
This report explores the impacts on agricultural trade from the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia’s agricultural trade has by and large continued unhindered by the COVID-19 pandemic. But for some sectors, such as those closely associated with food service and those reliant on air freight, there were some significant disruptions.
Published 5 June 2020
Where and how often fire occurred in Australia’s forest between 2011 and 2016
The latest ABARES Insights, ‘Stocktake of Fire in Australia’s forests, 2011 to 2016,’ covers where and how often fire occurred, what land and forest types were burnt, and whether fire was planned or unplanned.
Published 27 May 2020
Australian food security and the COVID-19 pandemic
The latest ABARES Insights says Australia does not have a food security problem, with Australia exporting about 70% of agricultural production and importing only about 10% of our food.
Published 17 April 2020
ABARES Insights: Analysis of opportunities in India
This ABARES Insights report provides analysis and modelling results of projected agricultural and food demand in India. This growth will bring opportunities for Australia's exporters.
Published 3 April 2020
Analysis of the effects of drought and climate variability on Australian farms
Our latest Insights report provides analysis on the effects of climate variability on Australian farms. It examines both short-term climate risks such as drought and longer-term shifts in climate conditions.
Published 18 December 2019
Forest industry’s key contribution to Australia’s economy detailed in new ABARES Insight
This Insights snapshot looks at the key aspects of Australia’s forest and sawmilling industries: forest area, log harvest, production, consumption, trade and industry structure.
Published 18 November 2019
New insights into Australia’s place in global agriculture and food value chains
This Snapshot examines how global value chains have created new opportunities for Australian agriculture and how they are important for further opening of import markets.
Published 19 September 2019
Comparing United States and Australia’s agriculture sectors
This Insights report compares the Australian and US agricultural sectors, briefly profiles US agricultural policy, and highlights Australia’s exposure to shifts in global markets from the US-China trade war.
Published 6 September 2019
Snapshot of Australian Water Markets
The Snapshot of Australian Water Markets describes the main features of Australia’s water markets and details key factors influencing water prices in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Published 18 April 2019
Analysis of the Future of Chinese agricultural policy
This brief – Analysis of the Future of Chinese agricultural policy – summarises research into major changes in policy direction since 2017. It analyses new policy directions in China’s agricultural policy, such as supply side reforms, present key opportunities and challenges for Australian agriculture.
Published 14 February 2019
Snapshot of Australia’s Commercial Fisheries and Aquaculture
This brief contains an overview of Australia’s commercial fisheries and aquaculture industries and six key aspects of Australian commercial fisheries and aquaculture including: industry structure, trends in production, trade, consumption, sustainability and innovation.
Published 18 December 2018
Snapshot of Australia’s Agricultural Workforce
This snapshot describes Australia’s agricultural workforce, providing key information and statistics in one place. We cover where workers live, what sub-industries and occupations they work in, and the mobility and educational attainment of the workforce.
This brief is based on a presentation by ABARES’ Executive Director to the National Drought Summit in October 2018 describing the effects of the current drought on Australian agriculture. The brief summarises the extent of rainfall deficiencies and the effects on crop production, livestock markets and farm incomes.
Published 26 October 2018