Qld: New agency to launch export drive

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-1999
Qld: New agency to launch export drive

BRISBANE, Dec 7 AAP - Queensland's food and fibre industries were set to earn the state
$32 billion a year by 2010 after the creation of a new elite world standard agency, Primary
Industries Minister Henry Palaszczuk said today.

Mr Palaszczuk said the Agency for Food and Fibre Sciences would give "scientific grunt"

to many industries.

This was by uniting the research efforts of more than 1,400 Department of Primary Industries
staff working in fields as diverse as biotechnology, climate forecasting, forestry, food
technology, intensive livestock, horticulture, beef, sheep and wool and farming systems.

"The $32 billion is a very significant increase from today's figure of $12 billion,"

Mr Palaszczuk said at the launch of the new agency.

"Secondly, by ... 2010, more than one-fifth of Queensland's total work force will be
employed in our food and fibre industries.

"That's a total of 500,000 jobs, almost twice the number we have now."

Mr Palaszczuk said the agency, which this year was armed with a $100 million research
budget, would build up Queensland's capacity to deliver environment-friendly and human-friendly
products to the world.

The new agency will unite the DPI's:

* Centre for Food Technology;

* Farming Systems Institute and Intensive Livestock Institutes;

* Queensland Agricultural Biotechnology Centre;

* Queensland Beef Industry Institute;

* Queensland Centre for Climate Applications;

* Queensland Forestry Research Institute;

*.Queensland Horticulture Institute and the;

* Sheep and Wool Institute.

AAP ch/jfs/cjh

KEYWORD: RESEARCH

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