The Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) has signed a A$2.6m agreement with Horticulture Australia Ltd (HAL) that could see the state's strawberry industry treble within a decade.
Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin said the aim of the three-year programme was to breed strawberry varieties suited to Australian conditions.
"The National Strawberry Varietal Improvement Program - Subtropical Regions, will hopefully establish a world-leading, cost-efficient program to drive the industry forward," Mr Mulherin said.
"We want to develop a range of high-quality, high-value varieties suited to important growing regions in sub-tropical environments.
"The Australian strawberry industry was built using overseas varieties, but they are not entirely suited to Australian growing conditions, or changing domestic consumer requirements.
"About 10 per cent of strawberries sold domestically are Australian-bred varieties and we want to increase that to 20 per cent by 2015."
Mr Mulherin said DEEDI had been breeding strawberries for Australia's sub-tropical zones since the early 1990s.
"To date, the program has achieved notable success with the commercial release of the Rubygem and Kabarla varieties.
"In 1991 the Queensland strawberry industry was worth A$8m annually - now it's valued at A$130m annually.
"It could therefore be possible to grow the industry to an annual value of A$300-500m over the next decade."
Mr Mulherin said evaluation of the new varieties would include extensive field trials in Queensland, with some trials in Western Australia and New South Wales.
"A Queensland sub-tropical strawberry sub-committee will provide critical input into breeding choices and priorities," he said.
"We want to boost the strawberry industry by developing varieties that have enhanced pest and disease resistance and tolerance."
