Agriculture - National Horticulture Industry Profiles - Tropical Fruit
Tropical fruit
Mangoes, avocados and pineapples are the major tropical fruits grown in Australia. Together they had a gross value of production in 1996/97 of $151 m. This is over 85% of the total for all tropical fruit and about 4% of the total value of Australian horticulture in 1996/97.
Major producing areas
Not surprisingly, Queensland is the major producer of tropical fruit, accounting for 60% of avocado production, about 80% of mango production and virtually all Australian pineapple and paw paw production. Avocado production is spread from the Atherton Tablelands in the north to the New South Wales border in the south. Mangoes are grown mainly in the Burdekin and Atherton regions. The major pineapple production areas include the Moreton and Brisbane areas, the central district of Fitzroy, and areas in the far north from Townsville to Cairns. Around 75% of Queensland’s pineapples supply the Golden Circle cannery at Brisbane.
Crops produced
Crop1996/97 |
Production (t) |
Value ($m) |
|---|---|---|
| Avocados | 20 070 | 42.1 |
| Carambola | 110 | 0.4 |
| Custard apples | 1 410 | 3.5 |
| Guava | 360 | 1.3 |
| Jackfruit | 80 | 0.2 |
| Longans | 120 | dns |
| Lychees | 1 340 | 6.8 |
| Mangoes | 32 400 | 69.6 |
| Papaws | 6 110 | 6.3 |
| Passionfruit | 1 240 | 3.0 |
| Pineapples | 122 980 | 39.3 |
| Rambutan | 150 | 1.2 |
| Total | 186 370 | 173.7 |
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Major production regions
| Region | Agro-ecological region |
Production (t) |
Value ($m) |
% of total crop area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atherton Tablelands, Qld | North-east wet/dry tropics/wet tropical coasts | 11 370 | 22.3 | 15 |
| Sunshine Coast, Qld | Wet subtropical coast | 63 960 | 26.4 | 14 |
| Burdekin, Qld | North-east wet/dry tropics | 7 810 | 15.1 | 6 |
| Bundaberg/Isis, Qld | Wet subtropical coast | 4 960 | 7.0 | 5 |
| Cooloola, Qld | Wet subtropical coast | 18 200 | 7.7 | 5 |
| Thuringowa, Qld | North-east wet/dry tropics | 8 110 | 9.7 | 4 |
| Livingstone, Qld | Wet subtropical coast | 14 590 | 5.8 | 4 |
| Darwin rural area, NT | North wet/dry tropics | 1 390 | 5.0 | 3 |
| Bowen, Qld | North-east wet/dry tropics | 1 380 | 2.7 | 2 |
| North Coast, NSW | Wet subtropical coast | 2 100 | 5.3 | 2 |
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Production, production trends and exportsMango production has risen consistently over the past decade, although 1998/99 was a poor season. Plantings in the Northern Territory have increased rapidly in recent years and increases in production are expected to continue. While avocado production has risen steadily, it is expected to plateau over the next few years as the production from new trees is balanced by a decrease in production from old trees. Recent data show a decrease in pineapple production. Australia is a small producer of tropical fruit by world standards, accounting for less than 1% of world production. Exports of avocados and pineapples are virtually nil, but exports of mangoes have amounted to 10 - 15% of the total production in recent years. Mainland China and Singapore have been the main destinations. |
Industry contacts
Australian Avocado Growers Association: PO Box 19, Brisbane Market, Queensland 4106; telephone: (07) 3213 2477
Australian Custard Apple Growers Association: MS 2287, Yeppoon, Queensland 4703; telephone: (07) 4939 7038
Australian Lychee Growers Association: Byron Bay Lychee Farm, Rishworth Lane, Brooklet, New South Wales 2479; telephone: (02) 6687 8009
Australian Passionfruit Industry Association: PO Box 1282, Murwillumbah, New South Wales 2484; telephone: (02) 6672 6986
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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