It’s been a positive week for Victorian farmers thanks to some overdue rain, but we need much more rain because it has been dry for so long.

The latest Food and Fibre Export Performance Report, released this week, shows Victoria was one of two states to grow food and fibre export value in the latest reporting period

Victorian global meat exports were up 28 per cent by value and 40 per cent by volume, with beef volumes up 51 per cent and sheep meat up 37 per cent.

Barley exports are up 43 per cent by volume and 26 per cent by value, but wheat was down 28 per cent on value and 13 per cent on volume.

Due to changing wine consumer demand, Victorian red wine export volumes are down 9 per cent and up just 3 per cent in value, whereas white wine export volumes are up 18 per cent and up 25 per cent in value.  

Victorian farm export value to China improved only 3 per cent despite a 40 per cent lift in volume, whereas both the volume and value of exports rose to Bangladesh (up 72 per cent increase in value), the Philippines (38 per cent) and India (25 per cent).

The Allan Labor Government crows about how Victoria has already reached the VFF’s 2030 target of $20 billion in food and fibre exports, and the latest national ABARES data shows our national farmgate value was up $10 billion last reporting year to a total of $92 billion, well on track for the Coalition and National Farmers Federation’s national target of $100 billion by 2030.

The Prime Minister wants to have a ‘productivity roundtable’ but instead, Labor is cutting agricultural production. Federal Labor are buying back precious irrigation water from the Murray-Darling Basin consumptive pool, and Victorian Labor aims for 95 per cent renewable energy from wind and solar industrial sites by 2035 – on prime agricultural land. Labor aims for net zero by 2045 for Victoria, and by 2050 for the nation.

Australia’s productive agricultural golden goose is getting the chop for city-centric political targets.