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By Rob Death
February 2004
RIRDC Publication No 04/019 RIRDC Project No DAV-183A
(Source: FAOSTAT) Buckwheat is produced in traditional growing areas in the Northern Hemisphere for it’s nutritional value (high lysine and arginine contents), starchy endosperm and short season maturity. Gramineae production in these traditional growing areas is often restricted due to climatic conditions and alternative competitive crops to buckwheat are limited.
In this report we are viewing the buckwheat industry from an Australia wide perspective, with certain pieces of analysis (including mapping) conducted on Victoria. The same methodology used in the Victorian studies would be easily applied in other areas of Australia, to determine their suitability for buckwheat cultivation.
The availability of land in Australia that is suitable for summer production of buckwheat (assuming the geographic, cultivar and climatic conditions outlined in this report) is severely restricted by the incidence of E.H.D’s (Extreme Heat Days) and lack of reliable summer rainfall. By availing ourselves of the CSIRO Climate Model Output and OzClim data we find that the availability of suitable land for buckwheat production in Victoria is predicted to decline significantly between now and 2050. (Appendices F, G, H, & I) However, suitable production conditions for Autumn/Winter production in the northern parts of Australia (such as the Darling Downs area of Queensland) are predicted to become more suitable for buckwheat production as a result of climate change predictions.
Production of buckwheat in Australia (especially Victoria and New South Wales) from the 2002/2003 season was severely restricted due to drought conditions in most producing areas. Total production of buckwheat in Australia during the 2002/2003 season was less than 1,000 tonnes. (Source: compilation from Industry intelligence) Australian consumption of buckwheat is increasing slowly in the human health food sector (the health food sector incorporates special dietary needs such as celiac and vegetarian/vegan which rely on the Gluten free and high lysine/arginine levels in buckwheat). However the adoption of buckwheat as a regular ingredient in the “main stream” processed food sector in Australia is not showing appreciable growth. The main target areas for consumption of significant volumes of buckwheat are the starchbased industries of breakfast cereals, bakery, pasta and smallgoods plus sweet and savoury snack foods. Each sector has some unique needs and all these needs are identified in detail in Chapter One.
Restrictions and limitations to the adoption of buckwheat in these “main stream” processed food industries are: (i) high cost of buckwheat versus gramineae produced starch, (ii) adverse flavour implications in some products, (iii) allergic reactions in some members of the population (Appendix B) and (iv) lack of a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that would justify buckwheat inclusion in the products.
Significant market research in the food processing industry over many years has indicated that health based claims alone are not enough to convince consumers to consistently purchase a product unless it also tastes good, is competitively priced and meets their perceived needs and wants.
Australian grown buckwheat is not statistically different to buckwheat produced in the Northern Hemisphere, in regard to chemical components and/or nutritional value (Table 1:001a). By carrying out limited food analytical test in Australia (by the State Chemistry Laboratory Werribee, Victoria) we have been able to demonstrate that storage of whole grain for up to 2 years does not significantly effect the chemically analysed nutritional aspects of buckwheat. We are then able to extrapolate these results to indicate that in all probability imported buckwheat that is a minimum of 2 years old may retain the chemical and nutritional value exhibited at harvest.
However time and conditions of storage may well effect certain organoleptic characteristics and hence some customer preferences. For example the reduction in green colour of the buckwheat groat (a groat is the buckwheat seed with the outer hull mechanically removed) is a major concern for buyers in Japan. The seed sprouting industry (see Chapter One for details) is the only food industry that we could identify that is likely to benefit from Australian grown buckwheat. This benefit results from an increased seed germination percentage in fresh versus aged seed.
Research into buckwheat components such as fagopyritols, rutin and D-Chiro-Inositol is well advanced in the USA and has been investigated for many years in China, Russia and Eastern Europe.
To date the author has been unable to find any commercially significant nutraceutical or pharmaceutical products using these components extracted from buckwheat, anywhere in the western world. Even in China, the home of modern buckwheat production, rutin derivatives are primarily manufactured from plant sources other than buckwheat. (Appendix J) Communication between all participants in the Australian buckwheat industry is possible via an industry association. However the industry participants at this stage are not willing to form an association and as such the Victorian DPI external web site may be the only potential source of up to date information.
Our research has utilised detailed crop modeling to determine the most appropriate sites in Victoria for buckwheat production. The Victorian areas that are most suitable on a crop physiology basis (taking into account all the factors present in Appendix D) are also the areas that are generally least suited to broad acre grain production. The primary influences are slopes that create difficulties with mechanisation and the areas are also suited to competitive high value horticultural/agricultural and tourist/commercial pursuits.
In addition to the crop modeling, we have also employed CSIRO climate predictions for 2020 and 2050 (Appendices F, G, H, & I) in order to ascertain the trends in regard to future availability of appropriate sites for buckwheat growing in Victoria. The climate prediction models use 2 scenarios - moderate and extreme emissions – when predicting 2020 and 2050 outcomes.
With this report we have completed 9 years of buckwheat project funding (joint funding provided by RIRDC and DPI Victoria) and so it is appropriate to suggest ways of retaining a “watching brief” on the industry to ensure it remains contemporary. The most important aspects that we must maintain are: (i) the retention of current information in regard to Australian and Overseas market developments for buckwheat grain (ii) developments in nutraceutical and functional food derivatives (iii) overseas developed cultivars that may be more suitable than the current cultivars for production under Australian climatic conditions.
The last 9 years has seen The Department of Primary Industries in Ballarat (as the lead agency) heading up a consortium that consisted of the Department of Agriculture NSW and the Agronomy and Soil Science unit of the University of New England (Armidale NSW). The UNE carried out agronomic trials on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales and also supervised buckwheat research by students. One such report completed in 2002 is titled: Report on The Buckwheat Variety Trials in Armidale, New South Wales by Kerrin Price Henderson, 2002.
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