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In this section you will find detailed information, including national overviews and state and regional level assessments, from the 2000-2002 National Land and Water Resources Audit theme assessments.
Agriculture - National Horticulture Industry Profiles - Root Vegetables
Root vegetables
Root vegetables—mainly carrot, with much smaller quantities of parsnip, sweet potato, beetroot, swede, turnip and radish—had a gross value of production in 1996/97 of $177 m, or about 4% of the total gross value of Australian horticultural production in that year. Carrots are the third most valuable vegetable crop produced in Australia after potatoes and tomatoes.
Major producing areas
Carrots are grown in all Australian States, in a variety of soils from sands to volcanic clay loams. Victoria is the leading carrot-growing State, but Western Australia is the leading carrot exporter.
Crops produced
| Crop 1996/97 |
Area (ha) |
Production (t) |
Value ($m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beetroot | 890 | 29 300 | 5.4 |
| Carrots | 7 050 | 257 410 | 142.1 |
| Carrots (seed) | 90 | 50 | 0.4 |
| Parsnips | 460 | 10 260 | 11.4 |
| Radish | 170 | 1 360 | 2.3 |
| Radish (seed) | 260 | 160 | 1.6 |
| Swedes | 320 | 5 580 | 3.2 |
| Sweet potatoes | 540 | 9 110 | 7.4 |
| Turnips | 100 | 4 710 | 3.3 |
| Total | 9 880 | 317 930 | 177.1 |
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Major production regions
| Region | Agro-ecological region | Area (ha) |
Production (t) |
Value ($m) |
% of total crop area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunraysia, Vic | Temperate slopes & plains | 950 | 47 020 | 29.0 | 10 |
| Beaudesert, Qld | Wet subtropical coast | 770 | 19 190 | 9.9 | 8 |
| Gingin, WA | Temperate slopes & plains | 760 | 32 990 | 19.5 | 8 |
| Lockyer Valley, Qld | Subtropical slopes & plains/ wet subtropical coast | 690 | 23 540 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Riverina, NSW | Temperate slopes & plains | 460 | 11 280 | 4.9 | 5 |
| Riverland, SA | Temperate slopes & plains | 440 | 21 000 | 10.6 | 5 |
| Mornington Peninsula, Vic | Wet temperate coasts | 340 | 11 120 | 8.1 | 3 |
| East Gippsland, Vic | Temperate highlands | 270 | 9 720 | 6.0 | 3 |
| Preston, WA | Wet temperate coasts | 210 | 10 140 | 6.3 | 2 |
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Production, production trends and exportsThe volume of both carrot production and carrot exports increased from 1994/95 to 1996/97. About 17% of carrot production in 1996/97 was exported, mainly to Malaysia and Singapore. Australian carrots constituted about 90% of carrots imported by these countries in 1996. |
Industry contact
AusVeg: RMB 5307, Strathbogie, Victoria 3666; telephone: (03) 5790 5247
Production and value data sources
Horticultural Research and Development Corporation 2000, Horticultural Productivity and Sustainability Project
Australian Bureau of Statistics 1996, AgStats 1996-97
National Land and Water Resources Audit 2000, non-agricultural land mask from 1:1 000 000 Landuse in Australia
Agriculture Fisheries Forestry - Australia 1996, Agro-ecological Regions of Australia
Horticultural Research and Development Corporation, Australian Horticultural Corporation, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics 2000, Australian Horticulture in the Global Environment
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