Australian horticulture

Hort Innovation Director Nomination Committee – Call for Levy Payer Candidates

Hort Innovation, the Rural Research and Development Corporation (RDC) for Australian horticulture, is undertaking Board Director elections later this year. As part of this process, a Director Nomination Committee (DNC) is being established to nominate candidates to be considered for the role of Director on the Board.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is seeking expressions of interest (EOIs) to be the levy payer representative on the DNC. This is an opportunity to ensure levy payers have a voice in Hort Innovation’s Board and direction.

The Department will assess all EOIs to create a candidate list that will be drawn upon for up to 5 years commencing in 2023.

EOIs can be sent to horticulture.policy@agriculture.gov.au by 5pm AEDT on Wednesday 29 March 2023.

Further information, including on eligibility and requirements for submitting an expression of interest, are available in the Levy Payer Representative Candidate Information Pack.

Download

Levy Payer Representative Candidate Information Pack (PDF 308 KB)
Levy Payer Representative Candidate Information Pack (DOCX 751 KB)

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

Horticulture is Australia’s third largest agricultural industry. It includes fruit, vegetables, nuts, flowers, turf and nursery products. Australian produce is high-quality.

The industry is very competitive, both in Australia and overseas. It also has labour and seasonal challenges.

We give advice to help farmers be competitive and innovative. We also help manage supply chains and biosecurity.

The industry

Most growers are small-scale family farms. The number of medium to large farms is growing. Industry is changing to face new challenges. Competition has increased due to imported produce. Produce prices and climate conditions are also changing.

To stay successful, industry tries new production methods. It also works to manage natural resources. Australia continues to grow high-quality products that match buyers' tastes.

Growing areas

Most of Australian produce is grown in:

  • Goulburn Valley VIC
  • Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area NSW
  • Sunraysia VIC and NSW
  • Riverland SA
  • Northern TAS
  • Southwest WA
  • Coastal northern NSW and QLD.

Performance

2020 to 2021

Source: Hort Innovation Australian horticulture statistics handbooks 2020/21

  • 2.54 million tonnes of fruit grown in Australia
  • 421,439 tonnes of fresh fruit valued over $1.2 billion exported internationally
  • Over 1.68 million tonnes of fresh fruit valued over $5.7 billion grown and sold in Australia.

Source: Hort Innovation Australian horticulture statistics handbooks 2020/21

  • 198,389 tonnes of table grapes grown
  • 13,037 tonnes of dried grapes produced
  • Over $460 million value per year in Australian exported fresh table grapes.

Source: Hort Innovation Australian horticulture statistics handbooks 2020/21

  • 3.83 million tonnes of fresh vegetables grown in Australia
  • 215,374 tonnes of fresh vegetables valued over $264 million exported internationally
  • Over 2.25 million tonnes of fresh vegetables valued over $5.2 billion grown and sold in Australia.

Source: Hort Innovation Australian horticulture statistics handbooks 2020/21

124,724 tonnes of Australian nuts were exported overseas with a value of over $873 million.

In 2020 to 2021 Australian horticulture (excluding wine grapes) had an estimated gross value of $11.92 billion.

The major product groups are:

  • Fruit and Nuts with $5.18 billion production value
  • Vegetables with $4.25 billion production value
  • Nursery, cut flowers and cultivated turf with $1.73 billion production value
  • Table and dried grapes with $489 million production value.

Production rates

Product Production (kilo tonnes)
Potatoes 1,077
Oranges 359
Tomatoes 297
Apples 254
Onions 281
Bananas 354
Carrots 275

In 2020 to 2021, the estimated value of exported fruit, vegetables and nuts was over $2.7 billion. The export of fresh produce in 2021 was affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

The value of imported seasonal fresh and processed fruit, nuts and vegetables was $3.4 billion.

South Korea, Mexico and China are Australia's main suppliers of imported vegetables. Our imported vegetables include mushrooms, asparagus, garlic and onions. 

The largest suppliers of imported fruits to Australia are New Zealand and the USA.  Our imported fruit includes kiwi fruit, avocados, oranges and table grapes. 

Compared value of exports and imports

Product Export value ($ million) Import value ($million)
Fruit 1,357 1,407
Nuts 924 460
Vegetables 452 1,620
Total 2,733 3,487

Find out more about horticulture performance in the Agricultural outlook.

Investment and industry bodies

Under law, levies collected from growers are invested by Hort Innovation. Hort Innovation works with industry to choose investments. Investments help growers to be more productive, competitive, profitable and sustainable. The government matches contributions to research and development investments.

Find out more about Hort Innovation.

There are many industry bodies that support Australian farmers. They speak for growers on matters like regulation, marketing, research and development.

Horticulture funding

The Horticultural Netting Program - Trial has been extended nationally with the Horticultural Netting Program - trial Expansion announced in December 2021. This funding helps growers to buy and install protective netting.

Find out more about the Horticultural Netting Program - Trial.

General enquiries

Call 1800 900 090

Contact us online

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