Macadamia Industry Flourishes in Queensland

In a statement dated 21 October 2021, Queensland Minister Mark Furner reported rising sales of macadamia trees and credited state support for the breeding and evaluation program. This is a historical report of that statement.

Additionally, Minister Furner said as many as 2.5 million trees will be established across growing regions in Queensland and New South Wales over the next few years. He added that the sales of four new varieties licensed by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries had doubled year on year since 2017. Moreover, to ensure that growers can access sufficient licensed varieties, 21 nurseries have been accredited to provide planting material. All of the major tree varieties commercially grown in Australia have been extensively evaluated through trials led by DAF.

New varieties are being developed under the national breeding and evaluation program led by DAF and the University of Queensland’s Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation. These projects were funded by Hort innovation through the macadamia r.d fund with co-investment by the Queensland government and other research partners.