- Agricultural exports make record contribution to Queensland economy
- Significant increases in cereals, chickpeas and beef exports
- China, South Korea and Japan remain key markets
Queensland’s agriculture sector delivered a surge in exports to record a record high of $12.51 billion for the last financial year.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) marked the second consecutive year of increasing exports, cementing the industry’s position as a vital contributor to the state’s economy.
The $12.51 billion figure was a 16.8 per cent increase over the previous financial year, representing an increase of $1.79 billion.
The ABS data shows the total export value of the state’s agriculture sector has surged by an impressive 25.16 per cent compared to the average value of the past five financial years.
The record-breaking export levels were underpinned by robust prices and a surge in export volumes, which lifted by 18.26 per cent to reach 7.87 million tonnes.
Key growth commodities for 2022/23 were:
- Cereals and Cereal preparations up 53.64% to $2.54 billion.
- Chickpeas up 37.26% to $369.12 million.
- Live Cattle up 53.94% to $147.96 million, accompanied by a 9.83% increase in export volume.
- Beef up 11.05% to $6.28 billion, with volume up 7.38% to 598,765 tonnes.
In the horticulture sector the volume of fruit and vegetables exported rose 3.25 per cent.
Avocados were a notable winner, with exports up 38.5% to $38.21 million, with volume up 24.09%.
In 2022-23, Queensland’s top three agricultural trading partners were China ($2.73 billion), South Korea ($1.82 billion), and Japan ($1.71 billion).
Key markets where exports of Queensland agricultural products increased were:
China: Up a remarkable 53.5% in value.
Indonesia: Up 40.1%.
USA: Up 19.9%.
Vietnam: Up 19.6%.
South Korea: Up 13.2% increase.
The latest Queensland export data can be viewed in an interactive dashboard at www.daf.qld.gov.au/datafarm
Quotes attributable to Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner:
“Queensland’s global reputation for clean, green and great-tasting produce is serving the state well, and this reputation is backed up by Queensland farmers every single day,” Mr Furner said.
“In Queensland that means good jobs for more than 360,000 people and a real driving force behind the state’s economic performance.”
“The Queensland Government will continue to back our farmers, and I’m certain our agricultural industries will continue to go from strength to strength.”
