Skip to main content
Skip to main content
Give      University of Florida

    Food and Resource Economics Department

    Food and Resource Economics Department

Economic Contributions of the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Food Industries in Florida, 2019

Summary

Collectively, the agriculture, natural resource, and food industries are significant contributors to the economy of the State of Florida. The economic contributions of these industries were evaluated for calendar year 2019 to update previous reports from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Economic Impact Analysis Program and to provide current information for the purpose of informed decision making.

Licensed IMPLAN© regional economic modeling software (IMPLAN Pro) and associated Florida state and county databases (IMPLAN Group LLC) for 2019 were used to estimate the total economic contributions of select industry sectors associated with agricultural production, natural resource extraction and management, and food manufacturing, distribution, and services. Analyses of this type capture not only the direct economic activity within these industries, but the indirect activity supported throughout the regional economy via supply chain relationships and induced activity supported by the re-spending of household income. This analysis includes 120 industry sectors that represent the broad array of activities encompassed by commodity production, manufacturing, distribution, and supporting services associated with agriculture, natural resources, and food. Economic contributions are measured in terms of employment, industry output, value added, labor income, other property income, and business taxes.

The overall economic contributions of Florida agriculture, natural resources, and food industries in 2019 include:

  • Direct employment of 1.75 million fulltime and part-time jobs, and total employment contributions (including multiplier effects in other sectors) of 2.50 million jobs, representing 19.8 percent of the state workforce.
  • Direct industry output or sales revenues of $182.62 billion, and total output contributions of $316.02 billion.
  • Foreign and domestic exports of $41.53 billion that bring new money into the Florida economy.
  • Total value added contributions of $159.74 billion, representing 14.8 percent of Gross State Product (equivalent to Gross Domestic Product).
  • Total labor income contributions of $96.53 billion, which includes employee wages, fringe benefits, and proprietor income.
  • Total other property income contributions of $46.69 billion representing rents, dividends, interest, royalties, etc.
  • Total local, state and federal government tax contributions on production and imports of $16.5­2 billion.
  • Across the various industry groups, total employment and value added contributions were largest for:
  • Food and kindred products distribution (1.81 million jobs; $108.31 billion), which includes food service establishments and retail food stores.
  • Agricultural inputs and services (231,463 jobs; $14.61 billion),
  • Crop, livestock, forestry, and fisheries production (172,451 jobs; $9.67 billion),
  • Food and kindred product manufacturing (143,891 jobs; $14.67 billion),
  • Mining (59,598 jobs; $5.25 billion),
  • Forest product manufacturing (50,707 jobs; $5.63 billion), and
  • Nature-based recreation - Golf courses (33,280 jobs; $1.61 billion).

Excluding the Food and kindred products distribution industry group, the total value added contribution was $51.43 billion (4.7% of Gross State Product), and the employment contribution was 691,389 jobs (5.5% of state workforce).

Geographically, the size and composition of agriculture, natural resources, and food industries varies dramatically across the state of Florida due to differences in climate, natural resource endowments, population, and settlement patterns. The largest economic contributions occur in the major metro areas of Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Bradenton, and Jacksonville, where there are large demands for food and kindred products, and a large workforce available for the industry (Figure ES1).

The seven largest counties in terms of value added and employment contributions were Miami-Dade ($22.68 billion; 294,791 jobs), Palm Beach ($18.00 billion; 194,490 jobs), Orange ($14.34 billion; 221,346 jobs), Broward ($12.81 billion; 192,746 jobs), Hillsborough ($11.94 billion; 176,637 jobs), Duval ($7.69 billion; 120,276 jobs), and Pinellas ($6.13 billion; 106,334 jobs).

During the ten-year period of 2010 to 2019, direct employment in Florida’s agriculture, natural resource, and food industries increased by 35.4 percent, or an average annual rate of 3.9 percent (9-year change), and total value added contributions grew by 35.3 percent, or 3.9 percent annually, in inflation adjusted terms. Growth in total employment contributions during this period was highest for Food and kindred products manufacturing (56.9%), Mining (45.8%), Food and kindred products distribution (43.8%), Forest products manufacturing (34.2%), Nature-based recreation (26.7%), Agricultural inputs and services (18.9%), and Crop, livestock, forestry, and fisheries production (5.9%).

Downloads

MEDIA INQUIRIES CAN BE DIRECTED TO:

Infographic of the 2019 Economic Contributions of the Agriculture. Natural Resources and Food Industries in Florida

Suggested Webpage Citation: 

Court, C.D., Ferreira, J.P., Botta, R., & McDaid, K. (2022, August). Economic Contributions of the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Food Industries in Florida, 2019. UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program, Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida. Retrieved [date], from https://fred.ifas.ufl.edu/extension/economic-impact-analysis-program/publications/2019-economic-ag-contributions-report/.