China is the world's largest grain producer, yet has grown more dependent on food imports in recent decades. Much of India's output is produced by subsistence farmers and consumed locally. The U.S. is the world's top food exporter thanks to high crop yields and extensive agricultural infrastructure.
The United States exports more food than any other country in the world. Among the top export destinations of the United States are Canada, Mexico, China, Japan and Germany. A significant share of the total production of numerous vital commodities is absorbed by the US agriculture export markets.
“In Australia we are lucky because most of our food is grown and produced here. We produce enough food to feed 75 million people. That is enough to feed the entire population three times over. We have a very safe, reliable, and efficient food supply chain.
China leads the list of the world's largest exporter.
Australian consumers can be confident in our food security
Australia is one of the most food secure countries in the world, with ample supplies of safe, healthy food. The vast majority of our food is produced here in Australia, and domestic production more than meets our needs even during drought years.
Australia exports around 72% of the total value of agricultural, fisheries and forestry production. Export orientation of each industry can vary by commodity type. Wheat and beef, which are large sectors, are more export-focused than dairy, horticulture and pork (Figure 7).
The state of Australian agricultural exports
Australia currently exports more agricultural products than we import, with around 70 per cent of Australia's total agricultural production sent overseas.
India has the most arable land in the world followed by the United States, Russia, China and Brazil. India and the United States account for roughly 22% of the world's arable land.
China leads the agriculture production of fruit, vegetables, cereals, cotton, eggs and poultry.
Russia is the world's largest exporter of oil to global markets and the second largest crude oil exporter behind Saudi Arabia.
Yet, to maintain consistent supply and satisfy year-round demand, Australia also needs to import a wide variety of food products into the country every year. Thanks to location-based analytics, you can determine where our food comes from by looking at our Story Map of the world.
Our diverse soils and climate provide a wide variety of fresh food all year round. Historically we produce far more than we consume domestically. We sell around 65% of farm production overseas, making Australia a leading food-exporting nation.
Water scarcity, heat stress and increased climatic variability in our most productive agricultural regions, such as the Murray Darling Basin, are key risks for our food security, economy, and dependent industries and communities.
Even the future of Australia's mighty $49 billion agricultural sector is looking shaky. Thanks to climate change, production of major export commodities such as wheat, beef, dairy and sugar will fall as much as 19 per cent by 2050, the Climate Group's report found.
Australia's exports are estimated to feed around 36.6 million people. When you add this figure to the population of the country, this means that Australian farmers feed around 61 million people overall. Breaking the figures down further, each Australian farmer produces sufficient food for 600 people for one year.
China is Australia's largest two-way trading partner in goods and services, accounting for nearly one third (32.2 per cent) of our trade with the world.
In 2022, China bought 1.1 billion tonnes of iron ore, 65% of which were from Australia. For Beijing, commodities from Australia are important for its efforts to revive the pandemic-hit economy. Iron ore, for example, is a vital component of its steel industry.
From Japan, Australia imports vehicles, refined petroleum, machinery and tyres. More recently, Japanese investment into Australia has been expanding into renewables; financial services; infrastructure; information and communications technology; property; food; and agribusiness.