Mr Minnis is a horticultural industry leader whose career has focussed on the export of high quality Australian fruit and vegetables and improved access to international markets.
He began his career in research and has built up a wealth of knowledge about quarantine, bio-security, market access and international trade. He has worked in the public and private sector and has provided technical and policy advice to both government and industry.
He earned a Diploma in Horticulture from the Queensland Agricultural College (now UQ Gatton) in 1963, and went on to obtain horticultural Bachelors and Masters degrees at Lincoln College, New Zealand.
He has held senior roles in Australian horticultural research and exporting organisations, including Austrade, the Australian Horticultural Exporters Association, the Australian Horticultural Research and Development Corporation.
In 1993, Mr Minnis established his own Australian export company, 888 Exports, which now exports more than $10 million worth of horticultural produce a year.
Mr Minnis said he appreciated early that although farmers could grow excellent crops, better post-harvest technologies could extend product shelf life and improve profitability and export potential.
