Australia has launched a five-year, $4 million national coffee research program that partners universities, industry groups and biosecurity experts in what is being called the country’s largest-ever coordinated coffee R&D effort.
Announced by Southern Cross University in late July 2026, the Australian Coffee Research Program brings together AgriFutures Australia, Plant Health Australia, the University of Queensland and the Australian Grown Coffee Association to strengthen productivity, biosecurity and long-term growth across the country’s small but ambitious coffee sector, according to the university’s program announcement.
Despite a domestic coffee market valued at $3.6 billion in 2025, Australian growers currently produce about 600 to 800 tonnes of coffee annually from around 900,000 trees, generating roughly $8 million in gross value of production, AgriFutures reported in its Assessing the Performance of International Coffee Cultivars in Australia study and broader Australian coffee overview.
Both AgriFutures and regional newspaper The Express note that more than 99% of the coffee consumed in Australia is imported, with the newspaper estimating Australians drink around two billion cups per year while less than 1% of that volume is home-grown.
Southern Cross University stated that Australia’s coffee industry comprises around 40 commercial growers farming approximately 400 hectares, with capacity to produce about 800 tonnes of coffee each year. Most production is concentrated in the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland and the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, according to AgriFutures.
Earlier variety trials led by Southern Cross University in collaboration with the Australian Grown Coffee Association and non-profit breeder group World Coffee Research tested 21 Arabica varieties from four major genetic groups under replicated, randomised block designs in Northern New South Wales and Far North Queensland, AgriFutures reported.
Those trials identified replacement cultivars such as Marsellesa, IPR107, Paraiso and Parainema as high-performing, disease-resistant, semi-dwarf varieties compatible with mechanised harvesting and suited to Australian conditions, according to the AgriFutures cultivar report.
The new national program is designed to build on that work. Southern Cross University said research will focus on improving farm productivity, evaluating coffee varieties suited to local environments, strengthening biosecurity preparedness and providing growers with better tools to manage future risks.
AgriFutures described the Australian coffee industry as a priority emerging sector with strong growth potential but clear challenges around scale, climate variability and production costs, and noted that the 2025–2030 Australian Coffee Industry RD&E Plan highlights limited supply, ageing plantations, biosecurity risks and low consumer awareness as constraints on competitiveness.
“This program builds on five years of successful variety selection trials and brings together leading expertise from across the country to solve industry challenges around sustainable intensification and biosecurity, ensuring research delivers benefits for growers,” said Professor Tobias Kretzschmar, researcher and program lead at Southern Cross University, in the university’s announcement.
Far North Queensland coffee grower Jack Murat said Australian coffee is earning a reputation for quality but that maintaining that momentum requires continued investment in innovation and biosecurity, according to Southern Cross University and The Express.
AgriFutures general manager for Levied and Emerging Industries, Samantha Beresford, told The Express that Australians are among the world’s most passionate coffee drinkers, yet almost every cup starts overseas, which she said presents an enormous opportunity for Australian growers.
In its Australian coffee industry overview, AgriFutures said it aims to increase the supply, consistency and quality of Australian-grown coffee to unlock premium domestic and export opportunities, and listed expected benefits from the new program including increased supply through improved varieties, enhanced quality through terroir and fermentation research, and a stronger, more coordinated industry.
Southern Cross University stated that coffee is already grown commercially in tropical Far North Queensland and cooler subtropical regions of south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales, with potential for expansion into other suitable regions as knowledge, genetics and production systems continue to improve.
The Australian Coffee Research Program is scheduled to run for five years and, according to Southern Cross University and AgriFutures, is intended to support productivity, profitability and sustainable industry growth while strengthening Australia’s preparedness against major exotic coffee pests and diseases.
