Project reviews value chain from soil to supermarket

To help the Australian horticultural industry maximise the potential value of its products, a project led by Central Queensland University (CQ University) is reviewing the entire value chain, from soil to supermarket. The $483,000 project is financed by the Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) Transformational Research Fund.

According to the project’s spokesperson Professor Philip Brown, the potential value of some crops is not being maximised. In addition, a significant ‘non-premium’ proportion of many crops never reaches the retail markets and other crops produce underutilised by-products.

“This project aims to enable specialty and, potentially, premium products that are differentiated via technology and product qualities, building on advantages in the production base and extending this throughout processing and through to marketing and brand positioning along the value chain,” said Professor Brown.

“Using flexible technology scaled for specialty products, there is potential for on-farm processing in some cases.

“Projects focused solely on technology or product development, without adequate attention to market assessment and value chain development, have failed or had minimal impact on the horticultural industry.

“However, drawing on collaboration and integration throughout the value chain, there is potential for highly significant transformative industry impact.”

The project will be undertaken in collaboration with the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture and the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.