Controlled Environment Horticulture Industry Potential in NSW
The Australian Greenhouse Industry
Horticulture is Australia’s third largest agricultural sector (after the livestock and broadacre sectors) with an estimated gross value of production of $8.9bn in 2013/14. It is the largest agricultural sector employer (employing about 61,000 people). However, glasshouse horticultural production contributes a relatively small proportion to these totals for the sector, although establishing exactly how much it contributes is difficult.
Dr David Hadley (UNE Business School) completed a feasibility study on options for the NSW glasshouse industry, completing the report, "Controlled Environment Horticulture Industry Potential in NSW".
The report focuses on the potential for controlled environment horticulture (CEH) development in NSW. This focus is driven by what appears to be a growing trend in the industry towards construction of large-scale, technologically complex, high-yielding and resource-efficient greenhouses which offer possibilities for meeting future demand for vegetables and other products (both domestically and internationally) in a relatively sustainable way and which could also increase employment opportunities in regional Australia.
Next steps
Upcoming Horticulture Roundtable at University of New England
This Report was commissioned by the NSW Department of Industry and funded through the Boosting Business Innovation Program’s UNE SMART Region Incubator. This report was prepared by Dr David Hadley for the Centre for Agribusiness and the UNE Business School.
