Bundaberg, located on Queensland’s central coast, is renowned not only for its beautiful coastline but also for its thriving agricultural industry. The region has earned a strong reputation as a prime producer of macadamia nuts, avocados, and citrus fruits, as well as sugar cane, small crops and grazing. These sectors contribute significantly to the local economy.
Thanks to its favourable climate, fertile soils, and access to advanced agricultural technology, Bundaberg is a natural fit for these high-demand crops. As a result, the region has become a hub of agribusiness innovation, with its industries playing a crucial role in the region's growth and Australia’s agricultural success.
Macadamias: The Star Crop
Macadamia nuts are one of Australia’s most prized crops, and Bundaberg is at the heart of their production. The warm, subtropical climate provides ideal conditions for macadamia trees, which thrive in well-drained soils. Australia has around 800 macadamia nut growers, and Bundaberg alone produces 76% of Queensland’s macadamias and 40% of the nation’s total production, making it the largest macadamia-growing region in the country. These farms supply both domestic markets and export their products to major international buyers.
Today, the Australian macadamia industry spans more than 45,000 hectares, primarily in Wide Bay, Queensland. As such, the future of Bundaberg’s macadamia nut industry remains positive, with Asia’s preference for Australian macadamias supporting future growth. As global demand for high-quality, healthy produce continues to rise, the region's farmers are generally well-positioned to take advantage of these trends. Advances in agricultural technology, including the use of automation, will continue to improve efficiency and productivity, ensuring that Bundaberg remains at the forefront of the Australian agribusiness landscape.
Investment, Processing and Innovation
Many macadamia, avocado and citrus producers in Bundaberg have made significant investments in cutting-edge farming techniques to maximise yield and quality. The region also benefits from a number of local processing plants, which turn raw nuts into roasted, salted, and flavoured products, strengthening Bundaberg’s position in Australia's macadamia supply chain.
Innovations in farming practices, such as precision agriculture and sustainable farming methods, have made the industry more resilient to challenges like seasonal conditions and market fluctuations.
Rising Costs and Weather Challenges
Despite its strengths, the sector faces headwinds. Advice from industry operators indicates that development costs for macadamia nut farms have risen from around $15,000/ha to $20,000/ha prior to 2024 to $25,000/ha to $27,000/ha today, driven by new varieties and inflationary input costs.
Weather has also played a disruptive role. Despite increased plantings, yields have lagged expectations this season due to excessive rainfall throughout 2025. Although yields improved in 2024, they again declined sharply in 2025 due to poor weather and economic constraints. Discussions with industry operators advise that some nut yields are down as low as 30% to 40% this season. This is also evident with other horticultural crops in the region with local farmers reporting avocado yields down as low as 50%, with some producers opting not to harvest. Citrus yields have been steadier but with reduced first-grade fruit quality this season.
Market Prices and Commodity Pressures
Fluctuating market prices have also played their part. In 2023, prices for macadamia nuts fell below $1.60/KG NIS, leading to reduced inputs and management efforts. The 2024 season price offer increased to $3.20/KG NIS and rose further to $4.22/KG NIS in 2025, which has provided some much-needed relief to industry operators.
Avocado prices have remained subdued for the past few seasons, while citrus prices are starting to return to steady levels after facing lower commodity prices over the past few seasons, albeit lower first-grade fruit qualities have resulted in lower returns at the farm gate.
Increasing land and water prices, currently between $3,000/ML and $4,000/ML for medium priority water, coupled with higher farm development costs, have constrained expansion over the past 12 months. Many growers are replanting older orchards with more precocious, higher-yielding kernel varieties to improve profitability.
Inflation continues to be a major barrier, with labour, energy, machinery, fertiliser, input and infrastructure costs increasing. The increase in farm input costs has squeezed profit margins, leading many growers to seek ways to improve efficiency through technology and improved farming practices.
Efforts being made to unlock higher yields and fruit/nut quality, especially through autonomous orchard operations will be key to maintaining profitability. Ultimately, Bundaberg is central to Australia’s industry future, as southern regions face challenges related to scale and unfavourable weather conditions. Our region’s horticultural crops prices are heavily influenced by global supply and demand dynamics, and fluctuations in export markets can vary prices significantly from year to year.
As always, the rural sector is highly dependent on seasonal conditions, Australian Dollar, import/exports prices, supply, demand, interest rates, commodity prices, adequacy/availability of water, input and labour costs and any adversities in these sectors can and do have an impact on the agricultural sector.
Currently, the rural property market in general appears softer with reduced market activity from its peak. The purchasing power of landowners appears to have reduced, driven by lower commodity prices, higher interest rates and inflationary pressures on input costs. We note that interest rates appeared to have peaked with the RBA introducing three consecutive 0.25 basis point cuts in February, May and August 2025, providing relief to mortgage holders.
Corporate Investment and Land Market Trends
Bundaberg has also attracted corporate investment. In 2022, a major macadamia orchard sale exceeded $150 million WIWO for more than 1,000 hectares of planted macadamia nut orchards, with state-of-the-art macadamia cracking, processing and packing facilities. Another notable sale saw a global agricultural investor acquire Macadamia Nut Enterprises for reportedly $71.7 million WIWO, comprising 344 hectares, 106,000 macadamia nut trees, state of the art processing facility and has certification of a negative carbon footprint with a carbon program in place.
Further investments included the conversion of over 5,400ha of sugar cane farms into 1,000ha of greenfield macadamia orchards, and a $39.9 million greenfield purchase of 1,756ha now under macadamia orchard development. Smaller to mid-sized sales since 2023 also indicate orchards values per hectare are holding steady or steadily rising for well-developed farms, especially on the back of capital increases and tree maturities.
Overall, sustainability will also be a key focus moving forward, with growers investing in farm and water-efficient practices, soil and tree health initiatives. This will be essential as the agricultural sector faces challenges related to climate, water, and market volatility.
In conclusion, Bundaberg's agricultural industries represent a dynamic and innovative part of Queensland's agricultural economy. With a combination of favourable growing conditions, technological innovation, and a strong export market, Bundaberg has cemented its place as a key contributor to Australia's agricultural success story. As these industries continue to evolve and adapt, the future of agribusiness in Bundaberg looks increasingly promising.