The Council of Agriculture yesterday announced the first batch of Phalaenopsis (known as the “butterfly orchid” in Taiwan) grown in aquatic weeds had arrived in Australia, marking a breakthrough in Taiwan’s efforts to tap the market in the southern hemisphere.
Council Minister Chen Wu--hsiung (陳武雄) said Australia has always been very strict in enforcing examinations of imported plants and animals, as it has several unique species and could be greatly affected by foreign species invasion.
That orchids grown in aquatic weeds from Taiwan were approved by Australia is a major breakthrough, he said.
The council said Taiwan was the first country to receive such an approval after four years of continuous efforts, adding that approval from New Zealand was also achieved last month.
Chen said foreign visitors who came to orchid exhibitions in Taiwan were often impressed with the diversity of the species and the fact that up to 14 million Phalaenopsis orchids are exported to the US every year.
The export value of orchids has risen from US$27 million in 2005 to US$82.5 million last year, the council said.
Taiwan Orchid Growers Association president Dennis Kao (高紀清) said “in the past, Australia only approved importing bare-root orchids from Taiwan, but the survival rate of the bare-root orchids was between 50 percent and 90 percent and needed two months to recover before they could be sold on the Australian market.”
“Now aquatic weed-grown orchids have a survival rate above 95 percent and only take two to three weeks to recover before being sold,” Kao said, adding that exporting orchids grown in aquatic weeds also create more jobs and a higher total net income than exporting bare-root orchids or orchid sprouts.
Kao said Taiwan also had the advantage of high species diversity and technical skills to grow quality orchids from aquatic weeds.
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