Our industry

Our objective is to drive the discovery, development and delivery of world-class innovation to enhance the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Australian grain growers. It also benefits the industry and wider community.

You can read more about our industry in our Annual Report 2019-20 (PDF).

Grain statistics

The Australian grains industry in 2019-20.

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Grain is the second largest agricultural industry by value and accounts for 28% of total agriculture gross value of production

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$7.3b
Value of exported grains

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Export destinations and volume:

  • Wheat, China (1.2m tonnes)
  • Malting Barley, China (1.1m tonnes)
  • Canola, EU (995,000 tonnes)
  • Barley, Thailand (479,725 tonnes)
  • Sorghum, China (438,610 tonnes)
  • Faba beans, Middle East (230,090 tonnes)
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3.37 tonnes average over five
years production per hectare
(all grains)

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Grain use (end products):

  • Bread products
  • Pasta products
  • Noodles
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Cakes
  • Pastries and confectionary
  • Breakfast cereals
  • Cooking oils
  • Feedstock
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$11.87b gross value of production

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22,300 number of grain farms

Collaboration and partnerships

GRDC cannont undertake research in its own right and so it always collaborates with other organisations. This collaboration and co-investment enables us to:

  • leverage resources and research capability
  • share market knowledge, technologies and intellectual property
  • reduce the risk associated with individual investments.

Our co-investors include:

  • other R&D corporations
  • state government departments
  • CSIRO
  • universities
  • private groups
  • private sector.

We also have bespoke investments, for example:

Representative organisations

GrainGrowers Limited and Grain Producers Australia are the declared representative organisations under the PIRD Act.

We formally consult with representative organisations at least every six months and more regularly on an informal basis.

Location

Grain production occurs across three main grain growing regions:

  • North
  • South
  • West.

Each region has distinct climate, cropping and market characteristics.