Agricultural
6 March, 2026
Record production in horticulture
Australia’s horticulture industry has reached its highest production value on record, with total output climbing to $18.4 billion in 2024/25, up 6 per cent on the previous year, new national data shows.
eals record gains across fruit, vegetables, nuts and nursery, signaling stronger farmgate returns in several major categories despite the impact of ongoing costs and operating pressures.
Vegetables recorded their highest value on record at $6 billion, increasing 6 per cent in 2024/25 despite a slight fall in production volume – driven by potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and capsicums.
Whilst a growing industry, horticulture is far from a main production commodity on the Darling Downs.
That said, however, the region does contribute significantly to the national total of lettuce and pumpkin production.
Jointly, in 2024-25, the Darling Downs and Lockyer Valley regions produced 58,659 tonnes of lettuce, 36.6 per cent of the national production figure.
The predominant variety was iceberg.
Queensland produced 47.5 per cent of the nation’s pumpkin crop in 2024-25, mostly drawn from the Darling Downs and Bundaberg regions.
The state’s total production was 55,662 tonnes.
The Lockyer Valley remains the State’s most prolific producer of vegetables, although the Bundaberg region is a healthy contributor to Queensland’s economy in the same field.
The Granite Belt is also among the state’s highest production areas for horticulture, in both the fruit and vegetables.
Figures for the Handbook were produced for Horticulture Innovation Australia (Hort Innovation), a not-for-profit, grower-owned research and development corporation (RDC) for Australia’s $18.4 billion horticulture industry.
