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Poppies

The poppy industry in Tasmania is now firmly established, with many farmers realising its value both as a cash crop and as part of their cropping rotations. There are around 800 licensed growers of poppies in Tasmania.

Australian poppy production is restricted to Tasmania for security reasons. Tasmania supplies about half of the world's legal pharmaceutical-grade narcotics material.

Tasmania is considered the world's most efficient producer of poppies with the highest yield per hectare of any opiate-producing country (around 2.5 tonnes per hectare).

The industry has made significant progress in its relatively short history in Tasmania, however, there is still scope for improvements in cultural practices and plant breeding to achieve higher yields and higher thebaine and morphine levels.

Two companies currently process poppies grown in Tasmania, Tasmanian Alkaloids and GlaxoSmith Kline. A third company, TPI Enterprises Pty Ltd, was granted a licence to manufacture and sell narcotics in August 2006. Completion of stage one of TPI's new manufacturing facility at Cressy has enabled TPI to fully develop and optimise a unique solvent-free process, and supply customer requests for samples of morphine and thebaine. The manufacturing facility is designed to supply up to 10,000 kg of alkaloid from 2007, and forms part of a four-stage expansion planned for the future.

No financial details are available on poppy exports, for confidentiality reasons, but the major export destinations of opium alkaloids are the United States, Canada and Western Europe. The industry is keen to expand into Asia (particularly Japan) and South Africa.

The majority of Tasmania's poppy seed production is exported overseas where it is recognized for its high quality. Approximately half goes to Europe and half to the United States.

Pyrethrum

The pyrethrum industry involves the growing of pyrethrum daisies and the extraction of their oils. Crops are mainly grown on the north-west coast, with a lesser area being planted in the northern Midlands area.

Tasmania is the second largest producer in the world after East Africa, supplying about 30 per cent of the global pyrethrum market. The field production system developed for pyrethrum in Tasmania is unique for it efficiency and productivity.

The industry is dominated by Botanical Resources Australia Pty Ltd (BRA) and to a lesser extent Australian Pyrethrum Farms (APF). Most of the stages of the extraction process are undertaken in Tasmania with the refined product exported mainly to the United States. Products are used as a key ingredient in domestic and industrial pest control formulations.

Specialty Crops

A number of specialty crops are emerging in Tasmania and have the potential for export or domestic marketing in the medium to long-term.