Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation

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Introduction

• wild harvesters;

• nursery operators;

• commercial producers of raw produce;

• food processors;

• hospitality providers;

• retailers;

• food service operators; and

• tourism operators.

Although commercial, horticultural cultivation of various bushfood species is expanding, wild harvesting is the dominant source of raw produce.

The farm-gate equivalent gross value of the industry was estimated to be $10-12 million in 1995-96. Average returns to individual businesses are reputedly low, particularly at the farm-gate level, with bushfoods being often only a small part of the business. At present the industry is poorly developed, businesses are generally under-capitalised and they, as well as new entrants to the industry, will require considerable entrepreneurial skill.

The necessary steps towards sustainable and prosperous growth in the industry include:

• establishing a market focus;

• better communication networks and dissemination of information;

• establishing recognised food-safety standards;

• setting up sustainable and profitable production systems;

• improving education and training in all industry sectors; and

• improving raw produce through genotype selection.

• bush tomato

• Davidson's plum;

• lemon aspen;

• lemon myrtle;

• mountain pepper;

• muntries/munthari;

• riberries;

• quandong;

• warrigal greens; and

• wattleseed.

• providing produce in an acceptable form and at a competitive price;

• offering it in guaranteed quantities; and

• meeting minimum quality standards.

Markets and marketing issues

• value-adding native food processors;

• gourmet food processors and manufacturers;

• cottage-industry processors: and

• restaurants and caterers which use local native foods.

Value added products are sold to:

• specialty food stores and delicatessens;

• distributors which service the hospitality, food and catering industry;

• major department stores, airport stores and other tourist speciality outlets;

• supermarket gourmet food sections; and

• specialty food services to airlines and tourist resorts.

Market demand

According to mainstream food manufacturers, the following products have potential if they are available in sufficient quantity, an acceptable form, and at the right price.

• native mountain pepper in a dried/ground form;

• native herbs such as wild thyme, native aniseed and mint;

• riberry without the seed in a dried/ground, essence, flavour, puree form;

• Illawarra, Davidson, Kakadu plum in essence, flavour and puree form;

• lemon myrtle in a dried/ground form;

• rosella in essence, flavour, puree form; and

• quandong in essence, flavour, puree form.

Consistency of supply and quality must be guaranteed regardless of variations caused by climate, harvest, handling and transport. Since most produce is at present supplied by wild harvest, it is unlikely that mainstream manufacturers will enter the industry in the very near future. It is also unlikely that they will develop products based on native food while raw produce remains at the current prices/kilogram.

Key marketing issues for bushfood producers include:
 

• A lack of information and educational material on how to use native bushfoods creates some consumer resistance to products.
• Little is known about realistic market potential or about specific market sectors which could support a sustainable industry growth.
• High prices for raw produce make it difficult to get good prices for value-added products. Many mainstream food manufacturers do not believe that a ‘novelty’, ‘exotic’ or ‘clean and green’ factor justifies higher prices than for conventional foods.
• Food manufacturers and consumers need to know that the food offered is safe to eat. This highlights the need for appropriate food-safety standards.
• Little is known about the most acceptable form of produce. Early market research suggests that there will be more demand for pureed, dried/ground, essences and flavours than for fresh or frozen whole fruits and nuts.

Varieties

Bush tomato (Solanum centrale). Also known as the desert raisin or in some Aboriginal communities as ‘akudjura’. A small shrub with grey to green leaves; fruits turn from green to yellow when ripe and dry on the plant to resemble a raisin. It is intensely flavoured with a piquant, spicy taste and can be used as a spice or flavouring addition in most dishes where tomato is used.

Illawarra plum (Podocarpus elatus). Also known as brown pine. Evergreen conical tree, a member of the conifer family, which is sometimes used as a municipal street tree or in parks and gardens. Dark green leaves with flowers on both male and female trees; it has blue/black fruits (approx. 20 mm long—ripening during autumn/winter) with an inedible seed attached to the outside of the flesh at the opposite end to the stem. It has a subtle plum/pine flavour.

Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana). Also known as billygoat, green or wild plum or murunga in East Arnhem land. A medium-sized deciduous tree with flower spikes in early summer followed by oval-shaped, green fruit with a large stone (ripening March-June). It has the world’s highest fruit source of vitamin C.

Lemon aspen (Acronychia acidula). A medium/tall tropical rainforest tree with dark green, oval-shaped leaves and creamy yellow flowers. The fruit is pale green to lemon coloured (harvest April-July) with a very thin outer skin and juicy, firm flesh.

Lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora). An evergreen tree of dull green foliage which has a strong lemongrass/lemon scent with white flowers in summer. Its leaves contain essential oils, giving it its perfume and taste; leaves, flowers and seed could all be used in dried, fresh, shredded, ground or crushed form.

Muntries, Munthari (Kunzea pomifera). Also known as emu apples, native cranberries, munthari, muntaberry, monterry. Evergreen, creeping shrub with grassy green, rounded leaves and dense, fluffy, white flowers. Small (approx. 10 mm round) green berries become tinged with pink to purple when ripe (generally late summer).

Native herbs (Prostanthera rotundifolia). P. rotundifolia is a native mint that grows well in cool, moist situations. It is a shrub to 2 metres high in optimum sites. It will not tolerate subtropical conditions and is frost-hardy. Native mint can be alternated with normal use of mint. Mentha australis and native aniseeds also have potential as native herbs.

Native mountain pepper (Tasmannia lanceolata). Also known as dorrigo, native alpine or snow pepper. Evergreen, medium shrub to small tree with slender, dark green leaves, cream-coloured flowers; berries turn black when ripe in late summer.

Quandong (Santalum acuminatum). Also known as the desert, native or wild peach or bidjigal or gudi gudi. Evergreen shrub to small tree with olive foliage; fruits (approx. 15mm round with a large pitted kernel) turn from green to shades of red/yellow/pink when ripe (generally in spring).

Riberry (Syzygium leuhmannii). Also known as clove lilly pilly, cherry alder. Evergreen tree with glossy, dark green leaves. Sometimes used as municipal street tree. Red, pear-shaped fruit that ripens in late summer and is strongly clove and spice flavoured.

Warrigal greens (Tetragonia tetragonioides). Also known as Botany Bay greens/spinach, New Zealand spinach, warrigal cabbage. A low, leafy, green, ground-cover plant with green leaves that look like an arrowhead.

Wattleseed (Acacia spp.). There are probably about one thousand wattle species in Australia, and the Aboriginal people have made various use of many of them. The number of these species suitable for food is much smaller and care should be taken to use only those species known to be safe. Flour of various quality can be produced by roasting and milling the wattleseed.

Wild lime (Eremocitrus glauca, Microcitrus sp.). Also known as desert lime, limebush, native cumquat. Dense shrub to medium tree which flowers in July to September, with fruit ripening (in summer) to a lime green to bright yellow colour. It is a juicy fruit which has a West Indian lime flavour.

Wild rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
Native rosella (Hibiscus heterophyllus). The wild rosella is an introduced species common in northern Queensland and the Northern Territory. It has a tart flavour with a raspberry, rhubarb, plum quality. The petals make jelly and can be used for dessert garnishes. Native rosella is used in the same ways as wild rosella.

Davidson plum (Davidsonia pruriens). The Davidson plum is included as a comparison species to Illawarra and Kakadu plums. A slender native of rainforest areas of northern NSW and Qld, the Davidson plum can be interchanged with Illawarra plums. The fruit is ripe when the skin is deep purple and the flesh red. Fruits mature in winter and are relatively easy to harvest as they hang in clusters. Minimal quantities of Davidson plums are used at this stage as it is currently more expensive at $30-32/kg farm gate than Kakadu and Illawarra plum. Plant material is available from several commercial nurseries. It is recommended that details of suppliers be obtained from the grower groups listed as key contacts.

Agronomy

The lack of chemicals registered for use will present problems. R&D is needed to identify which pests and diseases will affect production and to discover and register effective, low-toxicity chemicals which can be applied under appropriate permits.

The seasonal tasks necessary for the production of native food remain largely unmechanised. This means high labour costs, particularly at harvest. However, at present wild harvesters bear heavy expenses for fuel and accommodation, and these costs will be eliminated under commercial operation.

Produce grown from seedlings may not be what the customers want by the time it is harvested and this could be critical for species with a long lead-time like quandong and riberry. There is already a suggestion that buyers will prefer seedless riberries and if this happens, riberries with seeds will be much less profitable.

Nobody yet knows exactly what postharvest handling methods, transport and storage are needed to ensure that quality is maintained and shelf-life maximised. This will be particularly important for fresh fruits.

Some native species are known to be toxic— some acacias for example. However, not enough is yet known about this and it will be necessary to make and widely disseminate a list of the species which can safely be planted.
Economics of production

Although commercial production of native plant foods is in its early stages, sufficient demand for some species is beginning to justify commercial production and establish a farm-gate price.
To calculate establishment costs per hectare the following assumptions have been made :
 

• plantings are of single species grown in monoculture production systems;
• unless otherwise specified, plantings are in ground;
• rows are so spaced as to allow access by small horticultural machinery; and
• spacing in rows allows for a minimally restricted spread of natural canopy.

Planting densities can be increased by vigorous canopy management techniques such as trellising and pot culture. Many people who now produce bushfoods, or are thinking of doing so, prefer permacultural or polycultural planting. However, there is little information available about the costs of production under these systems. The present assessment therefore uses the accepted costs and practices in mainstream horticultural fruit, vegetable or herb production as a basis for calculation.

Plant density per hectare is calculated assuming 100 metre rows, spacings to maximise production, and efficient management practices. Lemon myrtle is assumed to have been trained as a shrub for maximum leaf yield.

The expected year of mature or maximum yield is listed in brackets, followed by yield in kilograms. This information has been supplied by current native bushfood nursery producers.

Farm-gate prices are based on price received for product sold to food processors in the 1994–95 and 1995–96 financial years. The prices do not reflect door sales to small restaurants and cottage industry manufacturers.

Key contacts

CORBO
Linda Hamley
25 Duke Street
Windsor, Vic 3181
Phone: (03) 9529 7346

Native Foods (SA)
Dion Dorwood
6 Bond Street
West Hindmarsh, SA 5007
Phone: (08) 8346 8022
Fax: (08) 8347 0583

Australian Rainforest Bushfood Industry Association
Mr Peter Hardwick
126 Salkeld Road
Lillian Rock, NSW 2480
Phone: (02) 6689 7568

Southern Vales Bushfood Group
Dr Ken Dyer
c/- Post Office
Clarendon, SA 5157
Phone: (08) 8303 5835

Southern Bushfood Network
Gil Freeman
21 Smith Street
Thornbury, Vic 3071
Phone: (03) 9416 7150

Australian Quandong Industry Association
Danny Matthews
P.O. Box 236
Upper Sturt, SA 5156
Phone: (08) 8642 2525

Queensland Bushfood
Co-operative
Mr John King
28 McPherson Street
Kipparing, Qld 4021
Phone: (07) 3284 2202
 

Key references

Plantchem Pty Ltd 1996 Development of Bushfood Resources and Areas for Future Research. Plantchem Pty Ltd, Indooroopilly.

Cherikoff, V. 1992 Uniquely Australian Bush Tucker Supply.

James, P. 1994 Bush Foods, a vision for the future Greening Australia Lismore.

Robins, J. 1997 Wild Lime—Cooking from the Bushfood Garden Allen & Unwin.

Australian Food Plants Study Group newsletters, SGAP.

Gott, B., Zola, N. 1992 Koorie Plants, Koorie People Koorie Heritage Trust, Melbourne.
 

About the Authors

Denise Hart, also a consultant, is a member of the Food Meeting Club and of the Restaurant & Catering Association, and a director of Rapt Consulting Pty Ltd.