Record agricultural sector valuation as regions and commodities grow strongly  

Media materials – (grabs, overlay, photos)

• Qld’s ag and fisheries forecast to reach record $23.44 billion value.
• Beef, sugar and cotton remain Queensland’s biggest crops.
• Strong growth in fresh produce.
• Toowoomba, Bundaberg among strongest producing regions.
• Lockyer Valley the fastest growing region for value of ag.

Queensland’s agriculture and fisheries sector has broken another record valuation of $23.44 billion according to the latest AgTrends data released today.

The new high for the 2022-23 financial year eclipses the previous record of $23.37 billion in 2021-22, and follows continued strong investment in agriculture by the Palaszczuk Government.

The best performing commodities and Local Government Areas (LGAs) for both size and fastest growth of Gross Value Production (GVP) in Queensland have been revealed.

Toowoomba took out top spot for the largest GVP in the land, valued at almost $1.36 billion, and was also in the top ten for growth, ranking sixth with a GVP increase of almost 5.8%.

Nearby Western Downs had the only other billion-dollar valuation, coming in second for GVP at $1.11 billion.

By far the fastest growing region was the Lockyer Valley, the value of its ag sector surging, up nearly 42% on last year’s GVP off the back of strong recovery from the 2022 floods.

Bundaberg was a major success story, with the region coming in third for GVP ($837 million) and second for growth of GVP, up 10.1%.

Beef remains king of the commodities in Queensland, with cattle and calves valued at over $6 billion in 2022-23, and meat processing estimated to be worth almost $2.8 billion.

Sugarcane and sugar processing reached a combined valuation of almost $2.5 billion, while the GVP of raw cotton soared 26.4% to over $1.5 billion.

Among the strongest growing commodities were Queensland’s world-class fresh produce, with apples, table grapes, pineapples, avocados, and bananas all in the top 10 for growth.

The latest Queensland AgTrends data is available at:https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/news-media/campaigns/data-farm/primary-industries

Quotes attributable to Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner:

“Queensland’s produce is world-class, so it’s no surprise our state’s ag sector is breaking records.

“Despite challenges presented by COVID and floods, our agribusinesses continue to go from strength to strength.

“The Palaszczuk Government’s strong support of Queensland’s primary producers continues through investment in research and development, disaster preparedness, AgTech, and strong biosecurity protections.

“We’re continuing to create jobs and back primary producers with sound investments through our Rural Economic Development (RED) Grants, which have supported about 2,500 jobs and provided about $12 million to our primary producers.”

Quotes attributable to Lockyer Valley primary producer and company director of Qualipac, Troy Qualischefski:

“The last 12 months of farming had its challenges, but what we are seeing today is wonderful growth in the industry.

“The Palaszczuk Government has been very pro-agriculture. We’ve seen investments through the RED Grants, and through the Smart Farming at the Gatton Research Centre.

“It’s great to see when you’ve got the backing of a government.

“The thing I enjoy the most is to see some of our export customers come back that we had lost during the COVID years, so that gives us confidence to keep investing in the industry and keep employing people.”

ENDS

Media contact: Martin Philip 0407 675 008