Export success hides domestic pain for growers - food security needs action

Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG) is warning against complacency on Australia's food security following the release of the ABARES June 2026 Agricultural Commodities Report, which shows export growth is increasingly obscuring challenges facing domestic fruit and vegetable production. 

While ABARES forecasts the value of Australian horticulture production will reach a record $18.9 billion in 2026–27, much of that growth is being driven by export-focused industries such as almonds, macadamias, citrus, and table grapes, while domestic fresh fruit and vegetable production is expected to decline. 

QFVG CEO Scott Kompo-Harms said the report should serve as a warning to policymakers that strong export figures do not necessarily reflect the health of Australia's domestic food system. 

"The headline numbers look positive, but when you dig deeper, ABARES is telling us that fresh fruit and vegetable production is expected to fall while export-oriented commodities continue to grow," Mr Kompo-Harms said. 

"Food security isn't measured by export figures or record production values. It must be measured by whether growers are still in a position to produce food. When rising costs and mounting pressures force growers to scale back or leave production altogether, our food security begins to erode." 

Recent QFVG grower sentiment data reinforces the scale of those pressures, with all respondents reporting significant increases in fuel, fertiliser, and freight costs over the past three months. More than half reported freight increases of between 25 and 50 per cent, with some experiencing rises above 50 per cent. Despite these increases, growers report limited ability to recover costs through the supply chain. 

More than three-quarters of growers surveyed described their businesses as either “under pressure”, “struggling” or “unsure about future viability”, while almost 80 per cent said they are delaying or reconsidering business decisions due to ongoing cost pressures and uncertainty. 

Mr Kompo-Harms said export growth was a positive outcome for Australian agriculture, but it should not distract from the need to maintain a strong domestic production base. 

"Australia has rightly built a reputation as a reliable supplier of high-quality produce to the world, and we should celebrate that success," he said. 

"But governments must ensure we don't lose sight of the domestic production system that feeds Australians every day." 

"Food security is not something we can take for granted. It requires ongoing investment in productive farmland, water security, workforce availability, and policies that keep growers growing." 

QFVG said the ABARES report reinforces the need for governments to treat fresh fruit and vegetable production as a strategic national asset and to work with industry to ensure domestic production remains viable and resilient into the future.