HSA Industry 
HSA Industry |
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Australian horticulture is a labour intensive industry, seasonal in nature and characterised by small-scale family farms and increasingly medium to larger operations, many of which grow a range of crops. Australia's horticulture industry has long enjoyed a domestic and international reputation for quality, primarily because of high standards in all stages of the supply chain. The horticulture industry is the third largest agricultural industry in Australia and it contributes significantly to non-metropolitan areas, employing some 55,000 in growing fruit, vegetables and nuts to supply the domestic and export markets. A further 11,000 are employed in fruit and vegetable processing (excluding wine manufacturing). The total area under production in Australia is about 2,500 square kilometers. The major growing areas for horticulture in Australia include the Goulburn Valley of Victoria; the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of New South Wales; the Sunraysia district of Victoria/New South Wales; the Riverland region of South Australia; northern Tasmania; southwest Western Australia and the coastal strip of both northern New South Wales and Queensland. Nursery production generally occurs close to the capital cities. A sizeable amount of horticultural produce in the southern states is directed to processing, while Queensland vegetables typically supply the southern states during the cooler June to October period. Banana, pineapple, mandarin, avocado, mango and fresh tomato production is concentrated in Queensland; stonefruit, oranges and grapes in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia; processing potatoes in Tasmania; fresh pears, canning fruit and processing tomatoes in Victoria; and apples and fresh vegetables in all states. Australia has a sizeable tropical horticultural industry including large irrigation schemes in the Ord River in Western Australia and the Burdekin River in Queensland. Bananas, mangoes, avocados, papaya, lychees, cucurbits (rockmelons, watermelons, pumpkins) together with tropical nursery plants and vegetables are important industries. There is also a growing 'rare and exotic' fruit industry (eg rambutans, durians, tamarillos, carambolas, jackfruit and mangosteens). Irrigated agriculture in Australia accounts for approximately 70% of total water usage. Of this, 13% is utilised in horticulture and viticulture (vegetables 4%, fruit 5% and grapevines 4%). Preliminary ABS statistics for 2002-03 show Australian horticulture had a gross value of production of $5,229 million (excluding wine grapes), ranking third behind the grain and meat industries (ABS 7501.0). The 2001-02 gross value of production is $5,463 million and is divided into the three product categories as follows:
The total value for exports of fresh and processed horticulture products in 2002-03 was $1,409 million (ABS 5368.0 and ABS 5464.0). The value of fresh horticultural exports in 2002-03 was $849 million (ABS 5464.0 as sourced by ABARE). Source: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Horticulture Fact Sheet, June 2004 Related Industries and Sectors
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