From the coal that powers nations to the avocados on our toast, Queensland's industrial might is a staggering tapestry where mining, agriculture, and construction combine to form a $418 billion economic powerhouse.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022-23, Queensland produced 252.1 million tonnes of black coal, accounting for 49.8% of Australia's total black coal production
- Queensland's metallurgical coal exports in 2022-23 totalled 113.4 million tonnes, valued at $42.3 billion, representing 78% of Australia's met coal exports
- The value of Queensland's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in 2022-23 was $28.6 billion, with three major LNG projects contributing 70% of Australia's LNG exports
- In 2022-23, Queensland's beef cattle slaughterings totalled 3.9 million head, representing 55% of Australia's total
- Queensland produced 1.8 million tonnes of raw sugar in 2022-23, 95% exported, valued at $3.5 billion
- Horticultural production value in Queensland reached $7.2 billion in 2022-23, with bananas at $700 million
- In 2022-23, Queensland's manufacturing turnover was $112 billion, employing 170,000 people
- Food and beverage manufacturing in Queensland generated $28.5 billion in 2022-23, 25% of national total
- Chemical manufacturing value added $12.3 billion, focused on petrochemicals
- In 2022-23, Queensland construction industry value was $85.4 billion, with 250,000 employed
- Residential building approvals: 45,200 dwellings approved, value $18.2 billion
- Non-residential construction: $32.5 billion expenditure on commercial and industrial
- In 2022-23, Queensland tourism generated $26.9 billion, supporting 270,000 jobs
- International visitor expenditure: $7.4 billion, with 2.1 million arrivals pre-COVID recovery
- Domestic tourism spend: $19.5 billion from 50 million nights stayed
Queensland's diverse industries drove significant economic output through mining and agriculture last year.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
- In 2022-23, Queensland's beef cattle slaughterings totalled 3.9 million head, representing 55% of Australia's total
- Queensland produced 1.8 million tonnes of raw sugar in 2022-23, 95% exported, valued at $3.5 billion
- Horticultural production value in Queensland reached $7.2 billion in 2022-23, with bananas at $700 million
- Queensland's dairy production was 1.1 billion litres of milk in 2022-23
- Pork production in Queensland totalled 450,000 tonnes in 2023
- Queensland's pineapple production: 200,000 tonnes annually, 90% from Sunshine Coast
- Avocado production in Queensland: 45,000 tonnes in 2022-23, valued at $250 million
- Mango production: 55,000 tonnes from Queensland in 2023
- Strawberry output: 120,000 tonnes, primarily South East Queensland
- Queensland's grain production (sorghum, wheat, barley): 4.2 million tonnes in 2022-23
- Cotton production: 800,000 bales in Queensland 2022-23
- Peanut production: 65,000 tonnes, 100% of Australia's supply
- Macadamia nuts: Queensland produced 45,000 tonnes in 2023, 70% of world supply
- Queensland fisheries catch: 25,000 tonnes of wild caught seafood in 2022, valued at $300 million
- Aquaculture production: 15,000 tonnes barramundi and prawns in 2023
- Forestry plantations in Queensland cover 1.1 million hectares, producing 4 million tonnes timber annually
- Native timber harvest: 1.2 million cubic metres in 2022-23
- Agricultural land use: 150 million hectares, 70% grazing
- Queensland farms: 35,000 businesses employing 170,000 people in 2023
- Value of Queensland agriculture exports: $20.5 billion in 2022-23
- Irrigated agriculture: 300,000 hectares using 2,500 gigalitres water annually
- Organic production: 15% of Australia's certified organic farms in Queensland
- Sheep and lamb production: 2.5 million head shorn, 1 million slaughtered in 2022-23
- Honey production: 25,000 tonnes from Queensland apiaries
- Egg production: 1.2 billion dozen eggs in 2023
- Goatsmeat production: 10,000 tonnes exported
- Cut flowers value: $150 million from Queensland growers
- Nursery products: $1.2 billion sales in 2022-23
- Wine grape crush: 25,000 tonnes in South Burnett region 2023
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Interpretation
Queensland is the nation's pantry and then some, single-hoofedly slaughtering over half our beef, satisfying the world's sweet tooth with its exported sugar, growing everything from peanuts to macadamias that dominate the market, and proving—between its vast herds, sprawling crops, booming aquaculture, and even its cut flowers—that it wields more agricultural clout than a combine harvester at a garden party.
Construction and Infrastructure
- In 2022-23, Queensland construction industry value was $85.4 billion, with 250,000 employed
- Residential building approvals: 45,200 dwellings approved, value $18.2 billion
- Non-residential construction: $32.5 billion expenditure on commercial and industrial
- Road and bridge construction contracts: $12.6 billion awarded in 2023
- Rail infrastructure projects: $15 billion under Bruce Rockhampton line upgrade
- Port expansion works: $5.4 billion at Abbot Point and Gladstone
- Renewable energy construction: 2.5 GW solar farms built in 2023
- Hospital and health facility builds: $8.9 billion pipeline
- School construction: 150 new classrooms annually, $1.2 billion
- Water infrastructure: $3.2 billion dams and pipelines
- Flood recovery construction: $2.8 billion post-2022 floods
- Airport expansions: Brisbane Airport $5 billion program
- Housing affordability projects: 30,000 social homes target by 2032
- Data centre construction: 500 MW capacity under build in 2023
- Mining camp accommodations: 50,000 beds constructed since 2020
- Prefabricated building modules: 20% of new homes using modular construction
- Green building certifications: 15% of projects LEED certified in 2023
- Apprentices in construction: 25,000 in training, 40% completion rate
- Engineering services firms: 1,200 firms with $10 billion turnover
- Tunnelling projects: 10 km Cross River Rail tunnels completed 2023
- Heritage restoration works: $450 million on 200 sites
- Defence infrastructure: $20 billion over 10 years at Larrakeyah
- Quarry production for construction aggregates: 120 million tonnes annually
- Scaffolding and formwork hire: $1.5 billion market
- Crane hire operations: 5,000 cranes servicing projects
- Waste management in construction: 90% recycling rate targeted
- Digital construction tech adoption: 60% BIM usage
Construction and Infrastructure Interpretation
Queensland's construction industry, a behemoth worth $85.4 billion and employing a quarter of a million people, is not just building houses and roads but is fundamentally reassembling the state itself, from its energy grid and ports to its digital backbone and social fabric, all while trying not to drop the next generation of tradies or the planet in the process.
Manufacturing and Processing
- In 2022-23, Queensland's manufacturing turnover was $112 billion, employing 170,000 people
- Food and beverage manufacturing in Queensland generated $28.5 billion in 2022-23, 25% of national total
- Chemical manufacturing value added $12.3 billion, focused on petrochemicals
- Metal product manufacturing output $15.7 billion in Queensland 2023
- Machinery and equipment manufacturing: $8.9 billion turnover
- Transport equipment manufacturing, including boat building, $6.2 billion
- Wood product manufacturing: $4.5 billion, leveraging forestry resources
- Paper and printing: $3.1 billion industry value in 2022-23
- Non-metallic mineral products (cement, glass): $5.8 billion
- Plastics and rubber products: $4.2 billion manufacturing output
- Textile, clothing and leather: $1.8 billion, with focus on workwear
- Furniture manufacturing: $2.1 billion sales in Queensland
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing grew 15% to $3.4 billion in 2023
- Electronics manufacturing: $1.5 billion, including defence tech
- Queensland's advanced manufacturing hubs produced 20,000 tonnes of composites in 2023
- Beverage manufacturing: 1.2 billion litres of beer and spirits
- Meat processing plants processed 2.5 million tonnes carcass weight
- Bakery products: $2.8 billion market in Queensland
- Dairy processing: 900 million litres into products annually
- Sugar refining: 1.6 million tonnes refined sugar
- Aluminium smelting at Boyne Island: 1.14 million tonnes per year capacity
- Steel fabrication output: 500,000 tonnes structural steel
- Pump and compressor manufacturing: $900 million exports
- Queensland manufacturing R&D spend: $2.1 billion in 2022-23
- Robotics adoption in manufacturing: 25% of firms using automation
- 3D printing output in Queensland: 10,000 tonnes filament and parts
- Bio-manufacturing: 50 facilities producing vaccines and biotech
Manufacturing and Processing Interpretation
With a robust industrial smorgasbord that ranges from aluminum smelting and petrochemicals to lifesaving vaccines and a frankly heroic amount of beer, Queensland's manufacturing sector proves it can build everything from a skyscraper's skeleton to your Saturday night, while quietly powering a quarter of the nation's food and drink.
Mining and Resources
- In 2022-23, Queensland produced 252.1 million tonnes of black coal, accounting for 49.8% of Australia's total black coal production
- Queensland's metallurgical coal exports in 2022-23 totalled 113.4 million tonnes, valued at $42.3 billion, representing 78% of Australia's met coal exports
- The value of Queensland's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in 2022-23 was $28.6 billion, with three major LNG projects contributing 70% of Australia's LNG exports
- Queensland mined 72.5 million tonnes of bauxite in 2022, producing 24.6 million tonnes of alumina
- In 2023, Queensland's gold production reached 257 tonnes, valued at $12.4 billion
- Queensland's copper production in 2022-23 was 152,000 tonnes, with exports worth $1.8 billion
- Zinc production in Queensland totalled 1.24 million tonnes of ore in 2022, yielding 300,000 tonnes of concentrate
- Queensland's nickel operations produced 48,000 tonnes of nickel in 2023
- Rare earth elements production in Queensland reached 5,200 tonnes of REO in 2022-23 from Mount Weld
- Queensland's vanadium project at Arthur River produced initial 1,000 tonnes in 2023 trials
- In 2022-23, Queensland's mining industry employed 58,200 people directly, with a total economic contribution of $85 billion
- Royalties from Queensland minerals and petroleum totalled $10.2 billion in 2022-23
- Queensland's critical minerals projects numbered 152 in development stage as of 2023
- The Bowen Basin produced 80% of Queensland's coal in 2022-23
- Queensland exported $94.6 billion in minerals in 2022-23, primarily to China, Japan and India
- In 2023, Queensland had 38 operating alumina refineries with capacity of 12 million tonnes annually
- Queensland's oil production was 1.2 million barrels in 2022
- Phosphate rock mined in Queensland totalled 2.5 million tonnes in 2022
- Queensland's iron ore exports from Central Queensland ports reached 15 million tonnes in 2023
- Silica sand production in Queensland was 1.8 million tonnes in 2022-23
- Queensland's mining rehabilitation expenditure was $450 million in 2022-23
- Female participation in Queensland mining reached 25% in 2023
- Queensland's renewable energy in mining: 30% of power from renewables in 2023
- Export value of Queensland lithium concentrates: $200 million in 2023
- Cobalt production from Queensland mines: 1,500 tonnes in 2022
- Queensland's graphite exploration projects: 12 active sites in 2023
- Antimony production in Queensland: 800 tonnes in 2023 from Costerfield
- Queensland's mineral processing facilities processed 450 million tonnes of ore in 2022-23
- Investment in Queensland mining exploration: $1.2 billion in 2022-23
- Queensland's thermal coal production: 138.7 million tonnes in 2022-23
Mining and Resources Interpretation
Queensland’s mines are basically writing the nation’s cheques, funding our future with mountains of coal, rivers of gas, and a glittering array of metals, all while slowly learning to clean up after themselves.
Services, Tourism and Trade
- In 2022-23, Queensland tourism generated $26.9 billion, supporting 270,000 jobs
- International visitor expenditure: $7.4 billion, with 2.1 million arrivals pre-COVID recovery
- Domestic tourism spend: $19.5 billion from 50 million nights stayed
- Great Barrier Reef tourism: 2.2 million visitors, $6 billion economic impact
- Cruise ship passengers: 850,000 in 2023 at Brisbane and Cairns
- Hotel room nights sold: 25 million, occupancy 72%
- Ecotourism operators: 1,500 businesses generating $2.5 billion
- Adventure tourism: $1.8 billion from skydiving, bungee etc.
- Retail trade turnover: $70 billion in Queensland 2022-23
- Wholesale trade value: $145 billion, focused on resources
- Financial services exports: $4.2 billion from Queensland
- Education exports: $5.1 billion from 120,000 international students
- Health services trade: $1.2 billion medical tourism
- Logistics and transport services: $15 billion industry value
- Ports handled 1.2 billion tonnes cargo in 2023
- Air freight: 800,000 tonnes through Brisbane Airport
- Professional services firms: 45,000 employing 400,000
- Call centres: 150,000 seats in Queensland BPO sector
- Film and TV production: $1.1 billion Screen Queensland rebate scheme
- Digital services exports: $3.5 billion software and IT
- E-commerce retail sales: $20 billion in Queensland 2023
- Hospitality employment: 180,000 jobs in pubs, clubs, restaurants
- Event hosting: 500 major events attracting 5 million attendees
- Caravan parks: 1,200 parks with 50,000 sites occupied 70%
- Golf tourism: 1 million rounds played by visitors, $500 million spend
- Cultural venues attendance: 10 million at museums and galleries
- Retail centres: 2,500 shopping centres with $50 billion sales
- Superannuation funds managed: $400 billion assets in Queensland
Services, Tourism and Trade Interpretation
Queensland’s economy is a vibrant, sun-soaked engine where a tourist sipping a coffee on the Reef fuels a supply chain that stretches from a classroom in Brisbane to a superannuation fund in Brisbane, proving the state is much more than just a pretty postcard.
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