Horticulture + Blueberries + Bananas
Coffs Harbour grows most of Australia's blueberries, and NSW grows most of the national crop; the coast is also where the country's banana industry began. We cover the horticulture economy from the data sources: the farmer-owned Oz Group co-op, Berries Australia, the Australian Banana Growers' Council, and the state agencies for biosecurity, land and water.
The industry carries real, reported debates over labour, water use and land clearing. We cover them on the documents, as fair comment on stated facts, and never as an unproven imputation against a named grower. Figures are verified on the source before we cite them, and data pieces carry a methodology note.
Horticulture + Blueberries + Bananas
The Legislative Council’s Modern Slavery Committee tabled Report no. 4 on 6 August 2026. Recommendation 7 names this region and asks government to investigate allegations of systemic labour exploitation among berry pickers, urgently and with federal agencies. Nothing is proven and no business is named.
18 August 2026
Horticulture + Blueberries + Bananas
The national crop is about 369,000 tonnes worth $719.4 million, and 94 per cent of it grows in Far North Queensland. Northern NSW was home to the first major commercial banana plantations in Australia and led the country through most of the 1900s. What happened to the industry this region invented, and the crop that replaced it.
18 August 2026
Horticulture + Blueberries + Bananas
The most recent industry figures put Australia's blueberry crop at $505.1 million and 27,540 tonnes, up 36% in a single year. New South Wales grows about 86% of it, and the national handbook centres that production on the Coffs Harbour region. The scale, the surge, the export pivot, and an honest read of what it means to anchor a national crop.
24 July 2026