Report
Profile of Sunshine Coast Food and Agribusiness: 2020/2021 Update
University of the Sunshine Coast
2021
Abstract
This report is the fifth update of the Building the Links (2015) project profiling the Sunshine Coast food and agribusiness sector for the Sunshine Coast Council. It should be noted that this update has been undertaken annually with the exception of 2020, and while agricultural production and value figures have been included for 2020, no estimate of the processing sector was done in 2020.
This report estimates the total value of food and agribusiness on the Sunshine Coast to be $796 million, comprised of an estimated value for agricultural production of $252 million and an estimated value of the processing sector of $544 million. Overall, this represents an increase in total value since the 2019 update of 13.5%, with a decrease of 3% in agribusiness production and an increase of 23.6% in the processing sector. This trend of declining agribusiness production combined with an increasing processing sector continues from the previous reporting period. As per previous reports, agricultural production estimates are based on ABS figures for 2018-19, while processing sector estimates are based on companies’ self-reported turnover for the previous year (so in this reporting period 2020).
The value decrease of Sunshine Coast’s agricultural production is primarily driven by the significant declines in the poultry and dairy milk industries. In contrast, notable growth was achieved in the strawberry, macadamia, and cattle/calves slaughtering industries. Other agribusiness production industries remained relatively stable in the analysed timeframe.
Overall, most processors reported a moderate to significant turnover increase over the past 12 months, whereas some noted almost no turnover change and a few turnover declines. Due to the heterogeneity of the businesses, each company in the processing sector had its individual opportunities and challenges. Reasons for both turnover increases and decreases largely related to the pandemic with food products suitable for at-home cooking and consumption increasing and food products dependent on export markets and / or the hospitality sector decreasing. Most processors mentioned that their profit margin stayed roughly the same compared to the previous 12 months.
Details
- Title
- Profile of Sunshine Coast Food and Agribusiness: 2020/2021 Update
- Authors
- Pascal Ledermann (Author)Meredith Lawley (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesSaskia de Klerk (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research
- Publication details
- 77 pages
- Publisher
- University of the Sunshine Coast
- Date published
- 2021
- Grant note
- This research was funded by the Sunshine Coast Council.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries; Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99706796202621
- Output Type
- Report
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