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In this section you will find detailed information, including national overviews and state and regional level assessments, from the 2000-2002 National Land and Water Resources Audit theme assessments.
Agriculture - National Horticulture Industry Profiles - Melons
Melons
Rock melons and watermelons are the main melon crops grown in Australia. They account for 96% of the total value for melons in 1996/97. With a gross value of production of $91 m, melons represented about 2% of the total gross value of Australian horticulture in 1996/97.
Major producing areas
Melons need warm conditions for optimum growth, and 60% of total Australian production comes from Queensland with a further 15% in the Ord River region of Western Australia. They are also grown as summer crops in irrigation areas of New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.
Crops produced
| Crop 1996/97 |
Area (ha) |
Production (t) |
Value ($m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melons (other) | 200 | 4 840 | 3.6 |
| Melons (rock) | 3 160 | 71 870 | 57.7 |
| Melons (water) | 4 350 | 86 660 | 29.9 |
| Total | 7 710 | 163 370 | 91.2 |
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Major production regions
| Region | Agro-ecological region | Area (ha) |
Production (t) |
Value ($m) |
% of total crop area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ord, WA | North-west wet/dry tropics | 1 120 | 25 760 | 17.6 | 15 |
| Burnett, Qld | Subtropical slopes & plains/ wet subtropical coast | 1 000 | 17 780 | 8.1 | 13 |
| Burdekin, Qld | North-east wet/dry tropics | 570 | 17 470 | 11.0 | 7 |
| Bundaberg, Qld | Wet subtropical coast | 470 | 12 210 | 6.8 | 6 |
| Bowen, Qld | North-east wet/dry tropics | 460 | 8 950 | 4.8 | 6 |
| Lockyer Valley, Qld | Subtropical slopes & plains/ wet subtropical coast | 430 | 8 050 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Riverina, NSW | Temperate slopes & plains | 370 | 7 710 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Riverland, SA | Temperate slopes & plains | 210 | 3 710 | 3.1 | 3 |
| Wet Tropics, Qld | Wet tropical coasts | 180 | 2 710 | 1.1 | 2 |
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Production, production trends and exportsMelon production has steadily increased since 1994/95. However, in the five years to 1998/99 melon exports have trended downwards and the value of melon exports in 1998/99 was close to $12 m. Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore remain the three major export destinations, accounting for around 90% of total melon exports. While exports to New Zealand have remained relatively constant, exports to Hong Kong and Singapore fell by 49% and 40% respectively. |
Industry contact
Australian Melon Association: c/- PO Box 60, Chinchilla, Queensland 4413; telephone: (07) 4668 990
Production and value data sources
Horticultural Research and Development Corporation 2000, Horticultural Productivity and Sustainability Project
Australian Bureau of Statistics 1996, AgStats 1996-97
National Land and Water Resources Audit 2000, non-agricultural land mask from 1:1 000 000 Landuse in Australia
Agriculture Fisheries Forestry - Australia 1996, Agro-ecological Regions of Australia
Horticultural Research and Development Corporation, Australian Horticultural Corporation, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics 2000, Australian Horticulture in the Global Environment
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