|
| Objectives: To foster the development
of a viable Asian Foods industry in Australia.
Budget: $580,000 |
Key sub-program strategies will:
Background
The market for Australian grown Asian vegetables in many Asian countries is large. For instance, Japan imports $2.3 billion of fresh, frozen, preserved and dehydrated vegetables each year. There are off-season windows of opportunity in Australia for fresh products when prices are high and supply from competing Asian sources is low.
There is no coordinated proactive market development by the Australian industry. Conservative estimates predict that, given appropriate research and development, the current value of the Australian industry will double within three years. Foods other than vegetables, particularly processed foods, are popular and opportunities include sauces, ready-made meals, and possibly snacks. Domestically, with increases in the Asian-Australian population, Asian tourists in Australia and changes in eating habits of Australians, demand continues to grow at a substantial annual rate. This program was developed in close consultation with Australian producers and processors and the Asian community following extensive review.
Achievements for 1997-98
Strategies for 1998-99
Second stages for past research efforts in bamboo shoots, wasabi, and Japanese ginger are being supported. Consolidation of R&D efforts for an emerging aquatic vegetables industry group, especially water chestnuts and lotus root, has been developed. Major efforts to consolidate research for leafy Asian vegetables both in terms of Australia wide production and postharvest handling methods.
Expected key outcomes in 1998-99
Sub-Program 2.2: Agroforestry and Farm Forestry
| Objective: To integrate sustainable
and productive agroforestry within Australian
farming systems. Budget: $3,291,968 |
Key sub-program strategies will:
Strategies for the widespread adoption of agroforestry
Background
Agroforestry has the potential to improve agricultural productivity, diversify and increase farm income, conserve land, maintain biodiversity and contribute to the national timber supply. Given appropriate research development and extension, agroforestry could become a widespread, profitable and sustainable system of land use.
A Joint Venture Agroforestry Program was established in 1993 with three partners: the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation (LWRRDC) and the Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation (FWPRDC).
Funding was also provided for some activities by the Murray Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the Department of Primary Industries and Energy.
The priorities for the Program have been revised following significant new developments in funding sources and a mid-term review conducted by AACM International.
In February 1998 the Minister for Primary
Industries and Energy advised that $4 million, sourced from the Natural
Heritage Trust, would be set aside for national farm forestry research
and development and invited the Management Committee of the Joint Venture
Agroforestry Program to determine a specific funding program on the basis
of a set of priorities established by the Minister.
The MDBC has contributed $150,000 to the Joint Venture in 1997-98 and will be contributing $275,000 in each of the subsequent two years.
Achievements for 1997-98
Market, economic, policy and social research
Sustainable use of natural resources
Optimising returns from tree products
Cost effective agroforestry systems to meet commercial and environmental objectives
General
Strategies for 1998-99
A specific call for new project proposals in April/May 1998 will elicit new projects particularly relevant to NHT priorities identified above.
Commercial opportunities for growing a range of tree species in low rainfall areas of Australia will be assessed. Additional priority will also be given to agroforestry systems in northern Australian.
The Windbreaks sub-program will be finalised and results developed through communications tools for use by farmers.
The latest JVAP research results on use of trees to address salinity problems will be synthesised into guidelines for practitioners.
Expected key outcomes in 1998-99
| Objective: To foster the development
of a viable Australian cashew industry.
Budget: $200,000 |
Key sub-program strategies will:
Background
A concerted R&D program in recent years has aimed to provide the platform for future development of a viable cashew industry. It is likely that Australia now has the most diverse and comprehensive genetic collection of cashew material in the world.
Furthermore, breeding efforts and production research arguably put Australia at the forefront in terms of establishing an internationally competitive industry based on the marketing of high quality fresh nuts and a range of value-added, processed products.
Achievements for 1997-98
Strategies for 1998-99
The breeding program, R&D to develop nutrition management strategies, and research into biological control of major pests utilising green ants, will continue.
The manual on cashew production will be used as a communications tool for a communications strategy to attract new growers and investors to the industry.
Expected key outcomes in 1998-99
| Objective: To foster an Australian
deer industry as a highly profitable and efficient
mainstream agricultural enterprise. Budget: $270,000 |
Key sub-program strategies will:
Background
The Australian deer industry has an estimated gross value of production of around $6 million, farmgate. The majority of the herd continues to be in NSW and Victoria. There is expansion in Western Australia and Queensland, albeit from a small base. Fallow and Red deer make up more than 90 percent of the national herd.
Australian venison production is around 1,000 tonnes with around 80 percent exported. Velvet production/harvesting has increased in recent years with about 23 tonnes, being harvested in 1997-98. Over 75 percent continues to be marketed by the Australian Velvet Pools Pty Ltd. A small but increasing quantity of velvet is processed in Australia before sale on domestic or international markets.
Prices for deer product declined in 1997-98, primarily because of the downturn in Asian economies. All of Australia’s velvet exports continue to go to North Asian markets. For venison, selling prices for prime stock declined from around $5/kg to a low of around $2.65/kg during the currency crisis in Asia, but averaged around $4/kg carcase weight in 1997-98. Prices for velvet fell sharply in 1997-98 with the average selling price in the velvet pool around $25 per kg. This price is down from $60 per kg in 1996-97.
By way of comparison, the New Zealand deer herd is around 1.5 million with slaughterings of around 300,000 animals in 1997-98.
Achievements for 1997-98
Strategies for 1998-99
The industry is seeking to expand the Australian deer population by 50 percent over the next four years. Enhanced communications and information transfer will continue to be vital elements in achieving this.
The investment in the Industry Development Manager is taking 35 percent of the annual R&D budget and will be our single most important investment in 1998-99. The other priority areas will be deer nutrition and expanding market opportunities.
Expected key outcomes in 1998-99
Sub-Program 2.5:
Essential Oils and Plant Extracts
| Objective: To support the growth
of a profitable and sustainable essential oils and
natural plant extracts industry in Australia. Budget: $453,599 |
Key sub-program strategies will:
Background
There is growing interest in essential oils in Australia. The current value of production (excluding tea tree oil but including the refining of imported eucalyptus oils) is $6-7 million farmgate and $20-25 million wholesale/retail a year. The eucalypt and tea tree oil segments aside, the principal foci for essential oil production are Tasmania and Victoria.
Essential oils are largely used in the food flavouring and fragrance industries but their use in aromatherapy and other health care areas is growing.
The recent change in the ownership of Essential Oils of Tasmania and increased planting of peppermint in Victoria are welcome fillips to the industry.
The success of the pyrethrum, poppy, and hop industries, with a combined farmgate GVP of some $27 million, suggests that there are significant opportunities for producing plant extracts from both native and exotic species.
There is strong market demand for locally produced medicinal herbs. At present, only about one-third of the 250 tonnes used each year is supplied from Australia. Several native plants are used for the production of substances such as scopolamine, Esculin, Castanospermine and Methyl cinnamate, within the fine chemicals sector.
Australia has a comparative advantage as a reliable supplier of clean, good quality, unique oils and extracts based on the use of high technology in both production and extraction.
Achievements for 1997-98
Strategies for 1998-99- Published an industry-generated newsletter under the aegis of the Essential Oil Producers Association of Australia.
- Strengthened peppermint R&D, through new projects and improved interaction between researchers in Tasmania and Victoria.
- Held a workshop for the medicinal herbs and plant extracts industries providing a clearer picture of the future for this burgeoning sector and enabled RIRDC’s R&D plan for these industries to be amplified. It also provided guidance as to which herbs and plant extracts are in currently in demand.
- Initiated new projects on the medicinal herbs Echinacea and skullcap.
New projects will be started on market opportunities for essential oils and plant extracts, and cytotoxic alkaloids.
Support will be renewed for double-harvesting of peppermint, anti-sprouting agents from dill, pesticide MRLs, boronia, Tasmannia lanceolata and ginseng.
Expected key outcomes in 1998-99
Sub-Program 2.6:
Organic Produce
| Objective: To optimise the profitability
of Australian organic production in both domestic and overseas markets
and to promote the utilisation of organic farming systems as a means of
enhancing the sustainability of Australian agricultural systems.
Budget: $250,000 |
Key sub-program strategies will:
Background
Consumers are increasingly aware of the quality and safety of food and fabrics they consume. At the heart of this worldwide trend is a desire to consume products, especially foods, that are safe, produced from environmentally sustainable farming systems, and ethically acceptable. In growing numbers, consumers are seeking organically grown products in response to this concern.
The Australian organic industry has around 1300 certified/registered members collectively marketing production estimated to be worth approximately $110 million annually. Members come from all sectors of the value chain – growers, processors and manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers – across all states. Six organisations are currently registered with AQIS to inspect and certify organic farming and processing systems. More will follow.
Rising domestic and overseas demand for Australian organic products is prompting a greater number of traditional farmers to consider and adopt organic farming systems. Typically the attraction is either improved market access and/or higher prices from niche markets.
Achievements for 1997-98
Strategies for 1998-99
The Industry intends to bed down the new peak body and R&D organisations formed in 1997-98. This will involve completion of the R&D Plan and dissemination to researchers and other stakeholders, creation of appropriate communication structures via newsletters, etc to ensure R&D activities are disseminated widely, and scheduling of a number of industry workshops and fora to assist industry development.
Specific R&D projects will be initiated according to R&D priorities identified in the new R&D Plan.
Expected key outcomes in 1998-99
Sub-Program 2.7: Rare
Natural Animal Fibres
| Objective: To facilitate the development
of new and established industries based on rare natural fibres.
Budget: $194,000 |
Key sub-program strategies will:
Background
The program can incorporate cashmere, mohair, alpaca fibre and camel hair projects. To date the R&D has been limited to mohair and cashmere since these industries fund R&D via means of levies on fibre sales. Other animal rare fibres are also being considered for funding.
World prices for cashmere and mohair fibres have been relatively buoyant during 1997 with some difficulty of selling some "lines" due to a fall in demand. Australian production of both mohair and cashmere has declined in recent years. On a world basis Australian cashmere production remains less than 1 percent of world production and the corresponding figure for mohair is 2 percent. Only by raising the efficiency of production, and producing what is required by processors, will productivity and net returns increase.
Achievements for 1997-98
Strategies for 1998-99
Future strategies for funding in the sub-program will be aligned to the R&D Plan. In many instances a pro-active approach will be necessary. Briefs of projects are being prepared and tenders invited. In addition projects addressing priorities will be invited in the normal passive annual advertising for RIRDC Proposals. Consideration will be given to the funding of a reproduction project in alpacas.
Close monitoring of current projects will occur and inputs from members of the RIRDC Advisory Committee will be used in this context as appropriate.
Expected key outcomes in 1998-99
| Objective: To support the continued
development of a profitable Australian tea tree oil industry in Australia.
Budget: $362,187 |
Key sub-program strategies will:
Background
Tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) is native to the north coast of New South Wales. Its oil has gained widespread therapeutic use for fungal and microbial infections but is not yet registered for use by the medical profession.
The current annual production of tea tree oil in Australia is about 350 tonnes, having a farmgate value of around $16 million. Because of recent plantings in northern NSW and in North Queensland, it is likely that supply will exceed market demand, at least in the short-term, and hence depress prices. Current hopes for continued and increased market demand are largely based on acceptance of tea tree oil by the US Food and Drug Authority for first aid and health care.
Achievements for 1997-98
Strategies for 1998-99
Continuation of the breeding program. Two projects focussing on efficacy will also continue:
Expected key outcomes in 1998-99
Sub-Program 2.9: Wildflowers
and Native Plants
| Objective: To improve the profitability,
productivity and sustainability of the Australian wildflower and native
plant industry.
Budget: $539,348 |
Key sub-program strategies will:
Background
Wildflowers are now cultivated in all states, but Western Australia still accounts for about half of Australia's annual wildflower production of around $30 million (farmgate). The relative importance of bushpicked flowers is declining, even in WA, and now represents only about 16 percent of the total value of wildflower production.
In 1995-96, exports of wildflowers and native plants amounted to about $30 million. The key commercial wildflowers are Geraldton wax, kangaroo paw, Thryptomene, and species of Banksia, Leucadendron and Protea. The major markets are Japan, the USA, Germany and the Netherlands.
Achievements for 1997-98
Strategies for 1998-99
Efforts to establish a more specifically wildflower-orientated R&D levy will continue in spite of the failure of a national floricultural levy to supported by the flower industry as a whole.
Emphasis will continue to be given to improving the flow of research findings to growers via publications, workshops and the field evaluation and licensing of promising new wildflowers and foliages.
New research will be undertaken on Leucadendron species, on terminal flowering forms of Grevillea on Quality Management, and on improved fumigation technology. Support will also be provided for a major industry workshop.
Expected key outcomes for 1998-99