Agribusiness contributes $1 billion to the Cairns regional economy each year.
The sector’s competitive advantage is built on the region’s tropical climate and fertile soil and supported by specialised primary production and established supply chains. Leading exports include raw sugar, live cattle, horticultural products – particularly tropical fruits, fish and shellfish. Recently, Tropical North Queensland’s agribusiness supply chain has expanded to include coffee, chocolate, wine, nuts and dried fruits.
Agricultural land in the Cairns region occupies 10,000 square kilometres, or 47% of the region. With abundant fertile land and water supplies, conditions are ideal for a wide variety of crops to thrive.
“The future’s very bright for growth of the agriculture industry in the Far North. Some of this will be on the back of the new irrigation projects, whilst some will be based on the diversity and the ability of our farmers in the Far North to look at crop diversification.”
