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Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation |
R&D Plan For the Culinary Herb Industry 2000 - 2005
ã Copyright 2000 RIRDC. All rights reserved (Please read our Disclaimer)
Purpose of the Plan
It is an interim plan
in the sense that it is the first one developed for the industry. It is
therefore envisaged that it will be revised from time to time as research
needs and priorities change.
The plan stems from a workshop held in Canberra in September 1999 at which eight members of the Australian Culinary Herb Growers' Association identified and prioritised what they believed to be the industry's main R&D needs and opportunities. Their ideas have since been canvassed within the industry and with researchers and where appropriate, modified and extended.
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Changes in Australia's ethnic mix and lifestyle have greatly increased demand for fresh culinary herbs and the industry has grown rapidly in both magnitude and diversity to meet this demand.
Victoria and Queensland are the major producers but significant production occurs in Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. The industry is thought to have about 40 to 50 significant commercial participants but there is an unknown number of cottage industry and backyard growers too.
The industry essentially comprises:
Market gardeners: who produce vegetables and herbs such as parsley, continental parsley, coriander, mint and dill on an all year round basis. They are typically family owned businesses, cultivating up to 40 ha and having up to 10% of their holding under culinary herbs. They are frequently located on urban fringes close to central market precincts. Market gardeners produce 30-40% of Australia's fresh herbs.
Specialist herb growers: who have holdings of 1 to 10 ha and employ up to 20 staff and may also produce dry herbs. These growers account for 15-20% of production.
Primary industry participants and horticulturists: who grow herbs in some years and in some seasons to diversify their business mix, provide continuity of employment for staff, or, as in Queensland for example, to capture seasonal price advantages. These growers account for 15-20% of production.
Cottage industry and lifestyle growers: who have holdings of less than 1 ha, may rely entirely on family labour, and sell only locally or direct to the public. These smaller growers account for 10-15% of production.
Enterprise turnovers range from a few hundred dollars a year for backyarders to more than a million dollars a year for major players. A 3 ha holding specialising in herb production occupies four people and typically produces herbs worth about $200,000 a year. Gross margin for several herbs are provided by Fletcher and Fraser (1998), by Ruben and Fikke-Rubin (1998), and by Hassall & Associates (RIRDC, in press).
Herb production is labour intensive. Hydroponic production, which accounts for about 5% of Australia's fresh herb production, is also very capital intensive. Most production occurs close to markets, with about 90% of it being sold as fresh herbs. Some herbs are sold door-to-door or in flea markets, often on a cash basis.
Some producers add value by improved presentation and with packing that extends shelf life. However, the benefit that accrues may be improved market positioning rather than improved price. A few growers dry their products or make them into pastes and it is this section of the market that is expanding and involving commercial players.
While there are significant imports of dried herbs, no fresh herbs are imported.
The ten most significant herbs traded are (estimated % of total production):
| Coriander - 20
Dill - 20 Basil - 15 Mint - 6 |
Chives - 6
Rosemary - 2 Oregano - 2 Thyme - 2 |
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| Parsley - curled
and continental - 25
Others, e.g. Lemon grass, garlic chives, marjoram, fennel and sage - 2 |
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Market trends and opportunities for new and improved products
The recent growth of the industry has been driven by demand, with both the sophistication of Australian tastes in food and the interest created by television shows fostering and directing this demand. However, this situation may not continue and the industry therefore needs to look to its future by identifying opportunities for differentiating and adding value to its product. This particularly so as the food industry is constantly evolving and adapting new technologies to do with freshness, flavour, variety, food safety, and convenience. The culinary herb industry needs to look for supply openings in food manufacture, in import substitution and in exports. Improved market awareness will need to be supported by a better understanding of customer attitudes and by promotion to educate customers in herb use and to project an image of quality, consistency and reliability of supply.
Profitable and sustainable production systems
In the long term, there is a need to devise and adopt production systems that are both profitable and ecologically sustainable. There are many gaps to be filled by generating new knowledge, by devising and demonstrating better ways of doing things and by making existing and new production information more readily and more widely available. Much agronomic advice is currently based upon historical overseas sources, some of which are of doubtful merit, and on temperate climate sources. The move towards accredited, sustainable production systems cannot be ignored.
Postharvest handling and distribution
Given that the industry's principal products are perishable there is much to be done to ensure that these products reach the end-user in good condition. Much of this relates to the need for the industry to educate the various linkages in the supply chain about handling fresh herbs. R&D has, perhaps, a central role to play in defining and devising packing and handling regimes that will extend shelflife and assure food safety because retailers and end-users to date have shown little response to such information. The industry must create and implement strategies that will extend shelflife and assure food safety.
Industry organisation and information flow.
The industry is fragmented and widely scattered across the country. It lacks an effective peak body to speak for it and to attend to matters of common interest and concern such as strategic planning, representation to governments, promotion and R&D. Hard facts on the value and composition of the industry are lacking, as are mechanisms for industry development, disseminating information and improving skills.
HEM-1A Prospects for herbs
and spice production in Australia 1991
UNE-30A A commercial herb
industry for northern NSW - an infant industry 1992/94
FHC-1A A workshop to develop
a strategic plan for the Australian herb industry 1993
DAQ-170A/DAQ-194A Callide
valley herb and spice trial 1994/98
DAV-89A Postharvest handling
and packaging of culinary herbs 1994/95
DAN-116A Development of
the herb and essential oil industries 1995
DAV-103A Value added culinary
herbs 1995/99
LWP-1A Broad acre dried
herb production 1995/99
HFA-1A An introduction to
herb growing 1997/98
OHG-1A A technical support
package for the development of the Australian herb growing industry 1998/2000
DAN-179A Determining whether
pesticide application rates for culinary herbs meet MRL requirements 1998/99
WS99- An R&D planning
workshop for the culinary herb industry 1999
Copies of the Final Reports
of most of these projects are available from RIRDC (02 6272 4819) or may
be viewed at www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/index.htm
The industry panel identified
understanding, strengthening and developing markets and profitable and
sustainable production systems as priorities for R&D in the early phases
of this plan. These priorities will be revised from time to time in light
of advice from the industry.
Each research objective is under-pinned by suggested strategies, by targets and by performance indicators upon which progress can be judged. The R&D plan seeks to provide general guidance rather than give detailed prescriptions about what needs to be done and how to do it.
The objectives should be regarded as complementary and having flexible boundaries that enable the key issues for the industry to be addressed effectively via more than one strategy.
The effectiveness of the program will depend greatly on the industry’s support for R&D and its involvement in both project design and execution.
| OBJECTIVE
ONE: |
To understand, strengthen and develop markets |
| OBJECTIVE
TWO: |
To improve existing products and develop new ones |
| OBJECTIVE
THREE: |
To provide profitable and sustainable production systems |
| OBJECTIVE
FOUR: |
To enhance the human capital of the industry |
OBJECTIVE ONE - To understand, strengthen and develop markets
To understand, strengthen and develop markets
Background
The industry is currently demand driven, with most but not all participants having a reasonable understanding of the current market position and likely short-term trends. However, the industry needs to have a feel for how to strengthen its present position and, particularly, how to prepare for the future should current demand for fresh herbs slacken or the trading environment change.
Strategies
Priorities
Highest priority will be
given initially to understanding market and consumer perceptions and to
identifying and evaluating opportunities for supplying herbs to the food
preparation and manufacturing sectors.
OBJECTIVE TWO - To improve existing products and develop new ones
To improve existing products and develop new ones
Background
The goals here are to help the industry to address opportunities to improve product quality, to add value and to develop new products that will maintain or add to the value of the industry should the demand for fresh herbs alter as the food industry evolves and changes.
Strategies
Priorities
Highest priority will be
given initially to developing new products and processes and to developing
standard descriptions.
OBJECTIVE THREE - To provide profitable and sustainable production systems
To provide profitable and sustainable production systems
Background
The goal here is to develop and foster production systems that are profitable, ecologically sustainable and in tune with moves towards accreditation for farming systems.
Strategies
Priorities
Highest priority will be given initially to reviewing and disseminating production information, to confirming and extending MRLs, and to the development of an IPM Manual.
OBJECTIVE FOUR
- To enhance the human capital of the industry
Background
The goal here is to strengthen
the human resource base of the industry by improving access to information,
by encouraging collaboration and a common ethos, and by supporting training.
Strategies
Priorities- Develop a readily accessible electronic database on culinary herbs.
- Encourage networking, workshops and the production of an industry newsletter.
- Support training in culinary herb production and processing.
- Develop a mechanism for the industry to fund and manage R&D.
- Encourage peer-based learning as a means of disseminating knowledge.
Highest priority will be
given intially to training and developing competencies nationally and to
developing a mechanism for funding R&D in the broad sense.
Opportunities
8.2 Appendix 2 - Industry contactJill Stone
Herbivorous P/L
PO Box 737
Melrose Park
MELROSE PARK SA 5039Ph: (08) 8298 2882
Fax: (08) 8377 3777
 
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Last updated: 4 October
2000 Copyright © RIRDC
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/pub/culherb5yr.htm
