Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search

Help for those affected by flood

Visit recovery.gov.au.

Close
ABARES

Top navigation abares

  • Department
  • Ministers
  • Media Centre
Main menu

Main navigation ABARES

  • ABARES Home
    ABARES Home
  • About
    About
  • Research topics
    Research topics
  • Products
    Products
  • Data
    Data
  • News
    News
  • Conferences and events
    Conferences and events
  • Careers
    Careers
Department of Climate Change, Energy, Enviroment and Water

Breadcrumb

  1. DAFF Home
  2. ABARES
  3. Research topics
  4. Food demand in Australia

Secondary ABARES

  • Research topics
    • About my region: regional profiles
    • Agricultural outlook
      • Agricultural overview
      • Australian crop report
        • National overview
        • New South Wales
        • Queensland
        • South Australia
        • Victoria
        • Western Australia
      • Economic overview
      • Outlook for crops
      • Outlook for livestock
      • Seasonal conditions
      • Australian rice markets in 2020
      • Water market outlook
      • Commodities and trade data
      • Historical agricultural forecast database
      • Definitions
      • Previous reports
    • Biosecurity
      • Biosecurity economics
        • A benefit-cost framework for responding to Varroa
        • Benefits of increased access to minor use chemicals
        • Biosecurity control strategies for red imported fire ants
        • Biosecurity response options for black-striped mussel
        • Consequences of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak
        • Consequences of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak - 2022 update
        • Economic consequences of a scrapie outbreak in Australia
        • Economic impacts of Xylella fastidiosa on the Australian wine grape and wine-making industries
        • Estimating the value of Australian biosecurity arrangements for equine influenza since the 2007 outbreak
        • Farm gate value of biosecurity
        • Potential impact of the wheat steam rust strain Ug99 in Australia
        • The impacts of Xylella fastidiosa on Australian horticulture and the environment
      • Biosecurity sciences
        • Treated ballast water and its impact on port water quality
      • Biosecurity engagement
    • Climate and drought
      • Agricultural Data Integration Project
      • Farm performance and climate
      • Measuring drought risk
    • Fisheries
      • Fishery status reports 2021
      • Fisheries and aquaculture statistics 2020
        • Australian fisheries and aquaculture production
        • Australia’s trade in fisheries and aquaculture products
          • Market access improvements: A case study of stone fruit exports to China
        • Seafood consumption in Australia
        • Employment in Australian fisheries and aquaculture 2019–20
        • About this report
        • Other useful information
        • Economic concepts in Australian fisheries and aquaculture statistics
      • Fisheries data
      • Fisheries economics
        • Australian fisheries and aquaculture outlook
        • Australian fisheries economic indicators
      • Fisheries research
        • Allocating fish stocks between commercial and recreational fishers: examples from Australia and overseas
        • Shark assessment report 2018
    • Food demand in Australia
      • Trends and issues 2018
      • Trends and food security issues 2017
    • Forests
      • Forest economics
        • Australian forest and wood products statistics
          • Socio-economic indicators—trends to 2018
        • Forest economic research
          • A framework for developing medium term projections of traded wood products
          • Economic potential for new plantation establishment in Australia
          • Future opportunities for using forest and sawmill residues in Australia
          • Illegal logging regulation: analysis of regulated importers by business size
          • Productivity and efficiency of the Australian sawmilling industry
          • Responsiveness of demand for structural pine to changes in timber and steel prices
          • Short-term forecasts of selected wood product sales volume: Method and assumptions
          • Upscaling the Australian softwood sawmill industry
        • Australian plantation statistics update
        • Plantation and log supply
        • National wood processing survey
      • Forest sciences
      • Forest data
      • Forests overview
    • Invasive species
      • Distribution and impacts of established pest animals and weeds
      • Exotic invasive species with environmental impacts
      • Prioritising targets for biological control of weeds
      • The National Priority List of Exotic Environmental Pests, Weeds and Diseases dataset
      • The state of weeds data collection in Australia
      • Wild dog research
    • Labour
      • Australian agricultural workforce: Stocktake of data sources
      • Previous research
      • Trends in the Australian Agricultural Workforce
    • Land Use
      • Land use of Australia 2010–11 to 2015–16, 250 m
      • Catchment scale land use of Australia - Commodities - Update December 2020
      • Catchment scale land use profiles
    • Agricultural productivity
      • Agricultural productivity estimates
      • International comparisons
      • Measuring productivity
      • Productivity data
      • Productivity drivers
        • Seasonal workers and working holiday makers comparison report
      • Productivity introduction
      • Productivity publications
      • Related research
        • Labour force survey
        • Rural research, development and extension investment in Australia
    • Social sciences
      • Australian marine pest network analysis
      • Biosecurity research
      • Climate research
      • Community engagement
      • Community involvement in plant biosecurity
      • Human dimensions research
      • Making general surveillance work
        • General surveillance case study overviews
        • Guidelines for general surveillance programs
        • Literature review: Understanding general surveillance as a system
        • Research report: Making general surveillance programs work
        • Stocktake of general surveillance initiatives
      • Natural resource management
      • Pest animals and weed management survey
      • Recreational boat operators’ self-management of biofouling in Australia
      • Social aspects of weed management
      • Social impact assessment
    • Farm surveys and analysis
      • Farm performance
      • Farm survey data
      • Disaggregating farm performance statistics by size
      • Previous research
    • Trade
      • Australian wine in China: Impact of China’s anti-dumping duties
      • Case study of Australian citrus exports
      • Case study of cattle exports to ASEAN countries
      • Agricultural export price and volume indicators
      • Analysis of government support for Australian agricultural producers
      • Australia's biosecurity market access and agricultural exports
      • Impacts of COVID-19 on Australian agriculture, forestry and fisheries trade
      • Non tariff measures affecting Australian agriculture
      • Overview of recent ABARES China research
      • Research on agriculture, trade and COVID-19
      • South America: an emerging competitor for Australia's beef industry
      • South American wine industry
      • The future of Chinese agricultural policy
      • Understanding how China's tariff on Australian barley exports will affect the agricultural sector
    • Water
      • A model of water trade and irrigation activity in the southern Murray-Darling Basin
      • Future scenarios for the southern Murray-Darling Basin: Report to the Independent Assessment of Social and Economic Conditions in the Basin
      • Measuring water market prices
      • Murray-Darling Basin water markets: trends and drivers 2002-03 to 2018-19
      • Murray-Darling-Basin water market dataset
      • Trends in water entitlement holdings and trade: Analysis of ABARES survey data
      • Water Market Outlook
    • Agricultural forecasting
      • Changes to reporting of marketing year data
      • Farm share and price spread
      • Farmers' terms of trade: Update to farm costs and prices paid
      • Forecasting national grain stocks in times of drought
      • Seasonal climate scenarios for medium-term forecasts
      • Summary of ABARES agricultural forecasting
      • The future of public sector forecasting in Australian agriculture
    • Working papers
      • A micro-simulation model of irrigation farms in the southern Murray-Darling Basin
      • A model of spatial and inter-temporal water trade in the southern Murray-Darling Basin
      • Analytical distributions and statistics for managing import pathway risk using the continuous sampling plan CSP-1
      • Analytical distributions and statistics for managing import pathway risk using the continuous sampling plans CSP-2 and CSP-3
      • Defining drought from the perspective of Australian farmers
      • Discount rates and risk in economic analysis
      • Introducing ABARES farmpredict
      • Non-tariff measures: A methodology
      • Simulating the effects of climate change on the profitability of Australian farms

Food demand in Australia

​Examining recent trends and issues in Australia's food demand is important for two reasons.

  • Food security—a key role of government is to ensure there is a high level of food security in Australia. In general terms, food security refers to the adequate and reliable provision of food that is safe, nutritious and affordable. As a net exporter of food and food technology services, Australia also contributes significantly to global food security.
     
  • Economic opportunities for farmers and other food providers—household food consumption in the domestic market accounts for around two-thirds of Australia's indicative food production (based on value), although food exports have recovered strongly in recent years.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducts a household expenditure survey (HES) every five to six years, providing data on food expenditure trends over time and across key population sub-groups (where households, for example, may be grouped according to gross household income or household net worth). A key feature of Australia's household food expenditure since 1988-89 has been the trend away from home cooking toward meals out and fast foods (see figure); the share of meals out and fast foods in total food expenditure increased from 25 per cent in 1988-89 to 31 per cent in 2009-10 and 34 per cent in 2015-16, the latest year available.

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.


Food demand in Australia: trends and food security issues 2017

A key focus of this report is to examine important aspects of the Australian Government's policy framework that contribute substantially to Australia's high level of food security.


Food demand in Australia: trends and issues 2018

In this report updated information on trends is provided (including 2015-16 HES data) and issues cover food security in low-income households (especially those highly reliant on government pensions and allowances), nutrition security, and food losses and waste.

​
Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI
Last updated: 16 April 2020

© Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.