Summary: Agriculture’s Contribution to Hawaii’s Economy—An Update

Abstract

When we describe the contribution of agriculture to Hawaii’s economy, we can portray it in several ways. The actual estimates may vary depending on what is defined as “agriculture” and on the methodology applied to develop the estimates. Here, we define agriculture as including farm production, forestry, fisheries, agricultural services, and food processing, as well as the related distribution margins (transportation, wholesale, and retail) used in delivering agricultural products and services. Then, we summarize and compare three measures of contribution—sales, value added (GSP), and employment—for three benchmark years: 1992, 1997, and 2000.