Payback Period for Strawberries Grown Under Plastic High Tunnels in Queensland

Information was collected on the economics of growing strawberries under high tunnels on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. The time taken to recover the cost of the tunnels generally varied from 3 to 10 years, depending on the annual rainfall, relative production losses, and base productivity. The estimated pay-back period for higher-yielding crops (750g/plant) under average rainfall conditions was 4 years but under wetter conditions, it was 3 years.