FARMERS are no longer the shining star of the Australian economy.
Agricultural production has hit the wall while the economy generally continues to improve.
It is the first time since the onset of economic downturn last year and the subsequent recovery that farmers have not been a positive contributor.
The revelation came today in the latest national accounts figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The figures show that the Australian economy grew 0.2 per cent during the three months to September this year, after extracting seasonal influences.
During the previous 12 months, growth came in at 0.5 per cent, suggesting the economy is making a modesty recovery from the impact of the global financial crisis.
The rental and real estate sector was a big contributor, along with transport, construction and wholesale industries.
But a number of sectors were still creating a drag on growth, including manufacturing, hospitality and other services.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing production was down by almost 2 per cent during the September quarter, and a massive 14 per cent during the previous 12 months - by far the largest annual industry decline.
The accounts also showed that rural exports were down 9.5 per cent during the September quarter, contributing to a slump of 3.6 per cent in exports generally.
