The 2023 Taste of Tropical Queensland Showcase in Cairns welcomed around 80 buyers and distributors, and 32 food and beverage exhibitors from the region.
A diverse group of Queensland’s leading food and beverage companies have showcased their products in the state’s tropical far north as part of Trade and Investment Queensland’s Taste of Tropical Queensland Showcase. Three-fifths of buyers present are based in overseas markets across Asia and the Middle East.
The Taste of Tropical Queensland event connects both international and domestic buyers with Queensland exhibitors across packaged goods, food and beverage, seafood and meat products. The exhibition in Cairns marks the fourth iteration of the Taste of Queensland, with $18.5 million in export outcomes generated since the first in 2019.
Treasurer and minister for trade and investment, Cameron Dick said Queensland was home to a sector that had forged a global reputation as a clean, green and reliable source of incredible food and beverage products.
“The exhibitors on show at Taste of Tropical Queensland are our state’s best and have the necessary experience, expertise and creativity to deliver vibrant products that appeal to international buyers,” said Dick.
Fenglehorn Sauces director, Mikey Haymen, said Fenglehorn Sauces had recently fulfilled the its first export deal to a major retailer in the USA as a direct outcome of the Taste of Queensland Showcase in 2022.
“We are excited to exhibit on our own doorstep in tropical North Queensland again.
“We have some of the world’s best soil, cleanest water, diverse eco-systems and brilliant culinary minds in our region, which creates a perfect environment to develop and manufacture an incredible range of world class food products,” Haymen said.
Skybury Farms general manager, Candy MacLaughlin, said, “The tropical tablelands of regional Queensland have long been referred to as the food bowl for the country and beyond with vivid, diverse and sustainable produce.
“The Taste of Tropical Queensland affords producers like us the opportunity to share ideas and connect our glorious region to buyers from around the world.”
