Horticulture toolkit

South Australia is a major producer of premium horticulture, recognised for excellence in environmentally clean, safe and advanced agriculture.

Horticulture generated $1.17 billion in farmgate revenue in 2022–23, with potatoes, citrus and almonds being the largest of a vast range of fruit and vegetables produced in the state.

Image gallery

Download high and low resolution images from the image gallery. Please ensure you credit Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) when using the images.

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Infographic

This infographic provides a visual representation of key information on the horticulture sector including:

  • major export products
  • major export markets
  • figures and statistics on production amounts and values
  • sector credentials and attributes.

Horitculture infographic (PDF 1.1 MB)

Videos

Transcript

[Text] The Department of Primary Industries and Regions acknowledges and respects Aboriginal people as the State's first people and nations.

We recognise Aboriginal people as traditional owners and occupants of South Australian land and waters. We pay our respects to Aboriginal cultures and to Elders, past, present and emerging.

[Music]

[Narrator] South Australia is a leading producer of temperate horticulture products including tomatoes, almonds, citrus and potatoes.

Our diverse horticultural production also includes apples, pears, brassicas, capsicums, and cherries. South Australia's horticultural industry spans the northern Adelaide plains, Adelaide hills, Riverland, and throughout the state's southeast and Mallee.

South Australian producers have a long history of being leaders in water-efficient technologies and management to ensure sustainable use of our water resources, in particular the Murray River, underground aquifers, and recycled water.

The South Australian horticultural industry has advanced rapidly from our traditional grower base to a higher degree of value-add through innovative production and processing. We are now leading technological advances in large-scale glasshouse vegetable-growing in Australia.

We're fortunate to have an ideal environment for growing horticultural produce from high-rainfall cool climates to warm dry regions, pristine water sources, clean rich soils, and abundant sunlight.

Many of our crops rely on honeybee pollination with the local apiary industry also producing premium honey products including the famous Kangaroo Island Ligurian honey.

Boasting rigorous and highly responsive biosecurity measures to keep the state fruit fly and phylloxera free, our horticultural industry is globally recognised in research, education, and development. The Waite research precinct, which includes SARDI, the South Australian Research and Development Institute, is the largest concentration of expertise in the southern hemisphere, specialising in biotechnology, sustainable agriculture, wine and horticulture, and land management.

And with South Australia's premium quality produce, it's no wonder that exports continue to grow with key markets including New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, China, and the European Union. Our produce can be seen on the tables of restaurants and households across the world.

[Music]

[Logo]
Government of South Australia
Department of Primary Industries and Regions

Scorecard report

Find detailed information on the food and wine sectors, see Industry scorecards.

Overview of SA horticulture

Horticulture in South Australia (PDF 3.4 MB) provides an overview of the industry, including:

  • production volume
  • farmgate value
  • innovation
  • advanced production systems
  • biosecurity
  • research and development.
Page last reviewed: 01 Sep 2017

 


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