Horticulture is the second largest sector of Australian agricultural industry after meat. Fruit and vegetables are the most important parts of the Australian Horticultural Industry, comprising approximately 74% of the total industry value.

Australia, geographically located in the southern hemisphere, has been an important supplier of small limited range of fruit such as grapes to western Europe from its early age of export. More recently, Australia has become a significant force in the Pacific Rim region to supply a wide and diverse range of fruit and vegetables, including melons, stone fruit, asparagus, broccoli/cauliflower and other exotic items. The harvest and supply season of Australian products is generally opposite to that of the northern suppliers such as USA and thus our supply is increasing gaining an importance for the markets in the northern hemisphere to complement their seasons.

Currently Victoria produces 23% of Australia's agricultural commodities and 30% of Australia's food products despite occupying only 3% of the area of the nation. Agricultural production is valued at $5.4 billion at the farm gate and the food processing industry which is the largest component (19%) of the manufacturing sector in Victoria, has an annual turnover of $12 billion. Victoria has many comparative advantages for the production and processing of a wide range of high quality agricultural and food products and is well positioned to capture major export opportunities in Asia. It has a diverse national resource base, low-cost raw materials for food processing, world class research capabilities and manufacturing skills and 'clean' production systems.

The horticultural industry has in the past, been focused on supplying product to domestic markets, but exports of agricultural commodities and food products from Victoria are forecast to double in the coming years. Due to these rapid developments and commitments, over the next decade increasing emphasis in now being placed on development of export markets.

A wide range of fruit and vegetables are produced and available in Australia all year round. Each item has, however, a best suitable season to be harvested and consumed, and this usually represents the available and/or best supply seasons for export.