Fruitful boost for the north's mango industry

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018: The mango, synonymous with the town of Bowen in my electorate, came in for a fruitful boost today with more than $500,000 being invested by the Coalition Government in trialling new methods to double the per-hectare productivity, and potentially more than treble business profit margins.I welcome the announcement from Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan today regarding this three-year project for the northern Australia mango industry which was launched in Ayr today.It's a collaboration between two large commercial mango growers - Manbulloo Ltd and BJM Enterprises - the Australian Mango Industry Association, and Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries."The project is all about getting more Australian mangos into growing overseas markets, supporting businesses and jobs throughout cropping regions. The $550,000 grant comes through our Cooperative Research Centre for Northern Australia, and comprises almost half of the total project cost of $1.3 million,” Minister Canavan said.“Modelling predicts that the introduction of measures such as intensified crop management systems could allow north Australian mango producers to double their productivity on an annual per-hectare basis."This puts northern Australia’s mango industry in a good position to take advantage of the growing demand for mangoes from Asian markets, with better quality mangoes – and more of them –  opening the door to high value markets, both in Australia and overseas.“That’s great news for growers, their employees, the businesses they work with, exporters and Northern Australia’s economy.”This investment to boost productivity of the best mango variety available – the Kensington Pride or Bowen Special - is excellent news and I congratulate our innovative producers BJM Enterprises, who will conduct trials in Bowen, and Manbulloo Mangoes, who will conduct trials at their Katherine and Mareeba properties.The project is the latest funding announcement from the CRCNA, which is receiving a total of $75 million from the Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. The CRCNA has co-contributed more than $3.7 million towards 12 projects since its first competitive funding call in October 2017.