WA tops agriculture income

WA produced $4.5 billion worth of agricultural product, or 15.61 per cent of Australia’s total gross agricultural product, during 1998-99, according to preliminary data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

WA also scored the highest per capita agricultural income, with $2,442 per head of population.

The gross WA value of crops is estimated to have risen 11 per cent to $3.2 billion. This is mainly due to an increase in the gross value of wheat – up 19 per cent to $1.9 billion – resulting from increases in both the production and price of wheat .

Canola is now the State’s second most valuable crop with a gross value of $230 million.