What land and water resources are invested in Australian grain production?
The grains industry is large and diverse. Grain is predominantly grown in inland regions of Australia, in areas from Central inland Queensland, central NSW mainly within the Murray Darling catchment, inland Victoria, south east Australia and south west Western Australia. In 2000-01, the key production statistics for the Australian grains industry were: • 21 million ha total grain area, producing in excess of 37 million tonnes • 0.13 million ha irrigated rice, using 1 643 GL per year with an average return of $189 per megalitre of irrigation water • 0.38 million ha irrigated cereals • gross value of production in 2000-01 of over $7.4 million, with export earnings of $6.2 billion.
