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The primary objective of the Identifying revenue opportunities for AgriFutures Australia’s rural industries project was to identify potential new and alternate revenue sources within 28 of AgriFutures Australia’s levied and emerging industries, and for Australian agriculture generally. Through a combination of stakeholder consultations and literature reviews, additional, new and alternate revenue sources were identified. These revenue sources range from completely new and novel opportunities to those previously explored but that could benefit from further investment. Similarly, what may be ‘old’ in one industry may well be new and untried in others.

New revenue opportunities may contribute to industry profitability and sustainability in four ways. Firstly, they provide diversification, reducing reliance on existing sources of income and thereby enhancing resilience against economic fluctuations and environmental uncertainties, such as drought or market downturn. Secondly, they can promote sustainable practices and innovation, encouraging industries to adopt environmentally friendly and technologically advanced approaches, which in turn supports long-term viability. Thirdly, they can foster economic growth and job creation in rural areas, helping to counter urbanisation trends and maintain vibrant rural communities. Finally, they can strengthen Australia’s position in the global market by tapping into emerging trends and consumer demands, ensuring the continued competitiveness of its rural industries on a global scale.

Industry-specific challenges

Specific challenges relating to the Australian jackfruit industry include:

1. Lack of specific agronomic information for growers to implement best practice activities for efficiency and higher yields.

2. Limited breeding development resulting in the absence of consistent, high-yielding clonal varieties and lengthy juvenile periods for seedling trees.

3. The industry faces constraints due to labour-intensive processes and limited mechanisation in the harvesting and processing of jackfruits.

4. Limited industry collaboration, with no peak body and minimal information channels hindering growers from accessing the necessary information to improve their enterprises. This is also impacting new industry entrants from participating.

5. Limited consumer education around the health benefits and how to prepare and cook jackfruit has resulted in a lack of consumer awareness and non-acceptance of jackfruit.

Industry-specific opportunities 

Specific opportunities relating to the Australian jackfruit industry include:

1. Consumer education and further marketing at points along the value chain of the health benefits, product uses and preparation process. Additionally, developing a domestic strategy for strategic and competitive labelling, branding and quality standards will assist market growth and increase demand for jackfruit products.

2. Value-add activities, including further research into potential products and uses for by-products. Jackfruit can be developed into familiar formats for consumers, including cooked and flavoured ready-to-eat products, cooking ingredients, quick and easy meals, and meat substitutes. Jackfruit seed could also be used in roasted nut products and seed flour. The development of technologies to extract pectin from jackfruit skin should also be explored.