New agriculture study to identify key regional export products

Greater Whitsunday Alliance (GW3) will lead research to identify key agricultural products for export from the Mackay Issac Whitsunday region through project funding from the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA).

Greater Whitsunday Alliance chief executive officer Ms Kylie Porter said the research will identify key Mackay Isaac Whitsunday (MW) export agricultural products and match those to complementary export markets.

“This research is a key deliverable of the MIW Agribusiness Futures Alliance, which comprises of representatives from key agricultural industry groups, bodies and agencies,” Ms Porter said.

“Maximising our region’s agricultural export potential is an important focus for the future, and we need hard evidence and research to back future export activities.”

Ms Porter said GW3 is partnering with other key organisations to deliver this important work including North Queensland Bulk Ports, Regional Development Australia Greater Whitsunday; Mackay Airport, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and Bowen Gumlu Growers Association.

CRCNA CEO Anne Stunzner said the regional agricultural supply chain baseline project will build on our previous work with the GW3 which identified what the opportunities are for producers across the region.

“This second stage of work will build on this foundational work to strengthen the linkages between regionally grown high-value produce and markets and map the supply chain network required to do this effectively.

Importantly, this work continues to inform a broader CRCNA-led collaborative supply chain project, where supply chain infrastructure is leveraged across northern Australia to optimise export opportunities for all.

Federal Member for Dawson George Christensen welcomed the investment into agricultural exports. “Building on our capabilities in the ag space is a great step forward and I encourage farmers to engage in this process with GW3,” Mr Christensen said.

Ms Porter said the expected outcomes of this research will give GW3 the opportunity to provide data to the region’s growers for them to develop and improve their export capabilities and outcomes.

“This project will continue to support GW3’s advocacy work for future investment in our region’s export infrastructure and allow us to direct resources to support growers pursue diversified markets.”

Greater Whitsunday Alliance is the region’s peak independent economic development body committed to making the Mackay Isaac Whitsunday region strong for generations.