Assessing the viability of developing air-freight facility in regional Queensland, Australia for exporting perishable agricultural commodities to the Asian markets

A major challenge in the agricultural supply chain in northern Australia is the lack of adequate air-freight facilities for transporting perishable commodities to both domestic and international markets. This paper examines the viability of developing air-freight facilities in northern Australia for exporting agricultural produce. Central Queensland (CQ), a predominantly agricultural region in northern Australia, is used as an example to investigate the future prospect of developing an air-freight facility to export perishable agriculture commodities. This research utilized a mixed methodology consisting of a literature review, a stakeholder workshop, and qualitative and quantitative data analysis. One of the key findings of the study is that the development of a stand-alone air transport hub is not possible in the CQ region due to some potential issues, including the risk of inconsistent supply, lack of locally based processing and packaging centres, and lack of enabling supply chain infrastructure. However, an air-freight facility supported by cold storage and processing facilities could be a viable option if the system is connected with any major air transport hub. As Queensland is very decentralized, several air-freight facility developments closer to intensive production regions would improve the current supply chain of exporting perishable agricultural commodities from regional Queensland to Asian countries.