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The island continent of AUSTRALIA is surrounded by the Tasman and Coral Seas to the east, the Arafura and Timor Seas to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the west and south. Australia is about the same size as the continental United States, but its population in 1999 of 18.7 million is only about 7% of that of the United States. The western two-thirds of the continent ranges from hyperarid to semiarid. The majority of the population lives along the relatively well-watered eastern and southeastern coasts. The climate ranges from the warm humid tropics to cool subtropics. Agriculture contributes about 4% to GDP. The main feature of Australian agriculture is the dominance of large-scale dryland farming and grazing systems. Most irrigated agriculture is found in the Murray-Darling Basin in New South Wales. Irrigated agriculture represents 16% of the value of agricultural production; about 5% of the value of irrigated agriculture is rice. General information - GNI per capita PPP$, 2000: 24,970
- Internal renewable water resources: 343 km3
- Main food consumed: meat, wheat, sugar and honey, oil and fat, milk
- Rice consumption, 1999: 7.9 kg milled rice per person per year
Production constraints
Rice yield and production have increased substantially since 1990. The national yield in 2000 was the world's highest. The following are the major constraints to sustainable rice production in Australia: - Stagnation of the yield potential of rice varieties
- Limited water supply for irrigation
- Increasing salinity of rice soils
- Low temperature
- High production costs
- Increasing concern about environmental degradation
Production season | | | | Planting | Harvesting | Main season,New South Wales | Oct | Mar-Apr | Main season,West Australia | Nov | Apr-May |
Basic statistics, Australia |
| 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | Rice | Area harvested (ha) | 122,049 | 104,545 | 118,893 | 140,000 | 120,000 | 145,000 | Yield (t/ha) | 7.1 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 9.9 | 9.0 | 9.7 | Production (t) | 864,000 | 924,000 | 1,015,830 | 1,390,000 | 1,084,000 | 1,400,000 | Rice imports (t) | 9,562 | 27,164 | 31,000 | 37,156 | 49,914 | na | Paddy imports (t) | 1 | 673 | 154 | 40 | 11 | na | Rice exports (t) | 341,411 | 424,287 | 541,848 | 551,775 | 668,591 | na | Paddy exports (t) | 0 | 24 | 431 | 25,036 | 71,426 | na | Others | Population, total (x103) | 15,637 | 16,884 | 17,942 | 18,517 | 18,701 | na | Population, agriculture (x103) | 937 | 931 | 898 | 878 | 871 | na | Agricultural area (x103 ha) | 472,960 | 464,481 | 463,348 | 472,000 | na | na | Irrigated agricultural area (x103 ha) | 1,700 | 1,832 | 2,400 | 2,400 | na | na | Total fertilizer consumption (t) | 1,155,000 | 1,163,700 | 1,867,400 | 2,110,000 | na | na | Tractors used in agric. (no.) | 322,000 | 317,000 | 315,000 | 315,000 | na | na | Source: FAOSTAT online database. |
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