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Advance Rockhampton - Rookwood Weir Commodity Report

Significant potential for a new mandarin industry in a Central Queensland region

There is a major opportunity to grow Murcott Mandarin production locally in the Rockhampton region, according to a recent report, which found the citrus fruit has gained significant popularity over the years.

The Rookwood Weir Commodity Report, co-ordinated by Advance Rockhampton, aimed to provide an in-depth analysis of the global market for each potential crop and assess the potential agribusiness opportunities for the production of mandarin crops within the region. Advance Rockhampton Executive Manager, Greg Bowden outlines there has been local interest in citrus including mandarins.

"Some of the rationale behind this is to diversify from a risk perspective and establish another production period at a different time to existing orchards," Mr Bowden said. “From a development point of view, there are opportunities for existing landholders to diversify on the property and there are solid opportunities for new entrants to the Fitzroy Food Bowl for larger scale mandarin orchards."

He added that these mandarin, mango, macadamia and irrigated cropping business case studies were launched to assist local landholders to assess potential opportunities for the Rookwood Weir Water Supply Scheme's second tranche of water sales.

Sunwater has recently released a tender process to the market providing landholders with an opportunity to bid for up to 500 megalitres of water from a total of 7,500 megalitres that is on sale and from the Rookwood Weir Landholder Support and Grants Program there was significant interest in further developing cropping, horticulture and livestock production.

"Some of the other takeaways were there was a domestic market opportunity for Murcott mandarins, and in terms of international market opportunities – China, Thailand and New Zealand were seen as the most favourable for the Rockhampton Region. “The fruit has great flavour, does well in sub-tropical environments and has no seeds. Also, there were large-scale land parcels with suitable soils that could accommodate extensive mandarin orchards in the Rockhampton Region and local supply chain logistics could accommodate distribution to domestic and international markets. The global increase in mandarin popularity has been driven by the increase in production in China which has been growing at an annual rate of 6.7 per cent."

The city of Rockhampton is based in Central Queensland, and the Tropic of Capricorn line passes through the region. The broader area has existing pineapple, mango and lychee production that could also be further tapped into to create various value-added products, according to Advance Rockhampton, and whilst the development of mandarin orchards and the growing of the Murcott mandarins has been identified as an opportunity if economies of scale are created, there could be downstream opportunities for food and/or juice manufacturing.

Mr Bowden explains it would take a new operation five to six years to establish a commercial orchard which includes the initial capital expenditure and set up for irrigation, planting, grow out and establishing processing and on-farm cold stores.

"The Fitzroy River catchment system is the largest catchment on the eastern seaboard in Australia, think the size of Tasmania, with approx. 5,900 gigalitres of water flowing through the river on an annual basis, he said.

"Apart from large amounts of water, the level of water security is exceptionally high with 99 years out of the last 100 years having significant flows at least once if not more during the calendar year. Around 300 days of sub-tropical sunshine, good quality agricultural soils – 45,000 hectares, abundance of water, transportation linkages (air, road and sea) and a significant local population that can sustain a growing workforce put Rocky on the radar for investment."

Advance Rockhampton is currently working with Cooperative Research Centre for Northern Australia, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and other stakeholders on the $900,000 agricultural planning initiative – the Making Water Work program. This program will assist in staging larger-scale agricultural development with the 45,000 hectares that make up the Fitzroy Food Bowl.

For more information on the Rockhampton Region, click here - or to view the Business Case Studies (view under the Landholder Support/Resources tab), click here.

Advance Rockhampton
Phone: +61 7 4936 8282
advancerockhampton@rrc.qld.gov.au 
www.advancerockhampton.com.au