Given agriculture is one of the so-called “four pillars” of the Queensland economy, the Government will be pleased with rosy forecasts for the sector such as this one from NAB agribusiness head Khan Horne, reported in Queensland Country Life today (Agribusiness ‘about to boom’):

THE talk may be of the end of the mining boom, but Khan Horne is confident another commodities cycle is only getting started.

The head of National Australia Bank’s agribusiness division says demand for farm commodities could underpin the economy for years to come.

“Generally speaking, it is a sector with good long-term opportunities and I would actually call it a boom,” he said…

…Like the mining industry, Asia is seen as a key growth market for the agricultural sector, though traditional destinations such as US should not be forgotten, he said.

“As GDP expands throughout Asia, they demand more protein. Australia is so well placed to supply it,” Mr Horne said.

Asia is also a major market for our cotton, for which we have a reputation as a high-quality producer. I remember the CEO of major Chinese clothing manufacturer Esquel telling the Australian Cotton Conference in 2010 that if Australian growers could produce more high quality Pima cotton he would buy it.

Finally, I recall KS at Loose Change observed earlier this year there are differing views on just how many pillars an economy has:

How many pillars should an economy have?