Mr SETTER - 1997-02-25
I understand a Taiwanese company is preparing to trial-cultivate in the Top End a very lucrative health food known as spirulina. Would the minister give the House some details about this company and what the benefits are likely to be if this project is successful?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for his question. This is indeed a very exciting project. At the end of its full development stage, it will employ approximately 33 Territorians. The company's investment in this project will total about $10m.
Spirulina is a health food that is rich in protein and, along with significant quantities of other B-complex vitamins, it has the highest vitamin B12 content of any unprocessed plant or animal food. It is a potential food item for persons suffering from coronary illness and obesity. It is a valuable vegetarian food supplement, and there are suggestions that it may reduce certain cancer risks, although there is no medical evidence to back them up. Spirulina is grown in ponds on salt lakes, and requires a tropical or subtropical climate, a pollution-free
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environment - clean air and clean water - and, of course, readily available land. Obviously, the Top End is ideally suited to its cultivation.
A Taiwanese company, Nan Pao, through its newly-formed Australian subsidiary, TAAU Australia Pty Ltd, plans to cultivate, process and package spirulina in Darwin. Its principal objective is to cultivate spirulina by controlled culture, using slightly salinated water for semi-processing into dried powder for export. It is a very lucrative product and Nan Pao has already developed markets for it, although the process and the outcome of this project is perceived in Taiwan as a test case. The company plans to export the product, via Taiwan, to Japan, Korea and China. Of course, at the present time, it is sold in Australia. Production for the first operational year is expected to amount to some 25 t, compared to a world production figure in 1995-96 of 1000 t, with a current market value of about $US35 per kilogram.
If stage 1 is successful, then the construction of second and third stages, with 12 ponds in each stage, will be followed by fourth and fifth stages of 24 ponds per stage to reach a total of 84 ponds. Stage 1 staff will include a general manager, 2 supervisors and 3 workers. Later, the project will require a scientific supervisor and 23 workers, eventually employing about 33 people locally. The acting managing director and project manager, Mr Huang Tien-Zan, is a permanent resident of Australia who holds a master's degree in biological science and who was trained in the cultivation of spirulina in Japan and Taiwan.
Between May and November of this year, TAAU Australia plans to clear and level 10 ha of land for the construction of concrete ponds for spirulina cultivation, holding and recycling ponds, circulation and filtration equipment, a drying oven, a warehouse, an office and a workshop. By December, the company expects to be able to cultivate spirulina. I understand one harvest per week is the norm. Early next year, it will be processed into dry powder for export. A complete range of processing equipment will be installed at a Trade Development Zone site, including bottling and palleting.
The core business of this company is the manufacture of synthetic resins. However, the company has expanded into other fields, including the operation of schools and leisure facilities. In fact, the company is looking at a number of other projects and developments in the Northern Territory. We wish it well with the first stage of this project.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for his question. This is indeed a very exciting project. At the end of its full development stage, it will employ approximately 33 Territorians. The company's investment in this project will total about $10m.
Spirulina is a health food that is rich in protein and, along with significant quantities of other B-complex vitamins, it has the highest vitamin B12 content of any unprocessed plant or animal food. It is a potential food item for persons suffering from coronary illness and obesity. It is a valuable vegetarian food supplement, and there are suggestions that it may reduce certain cancer risks, although there is no medical evidence to back them up. Spirulina is grown in ponds on salt lakes, and requires a tropical or subtropical climate, a pollution-free
Page 1947
environment - clean air and clean water - and, of course, readily available land. Obviously, the Top End is ideally suited to its cultivation.
A Taiwanese company, Nan Pao, through its newly-formed Australian subsidiary, TAAU Australia Pty Ltd, plans to cultivate, process and package spirulina in Darwin. Its principal objective is to cultivate spirulina by controlled culture, using slightly salinated water for semi-processing into dried powder for export. It is a very lucrative product and Nan Pao has already developed markets for it, although the process and the outcome of this project is perceived in Taiwan as a test case. The company plans to export the product, via Taiwan, to Japan, Korea and China. Of course, at the present time, it is sold in Australia. Production for the first operational year is expected to amount to some 25 t, compared to a world production figure in 1995-96 of 1000 t, with a current market value of about $US35 per kilogram.
If stage 1 is successful, then the construction of second and third stages, with 12 ponds in each stage, will be followed by fourth and fifth stages of 24 ponds per stage to reach a total of 84 ponds. Stage 1 staff will include a general manager, 2 supervisors and 3 workers. Later, the project will require a scientific supervisor and 23 workers, eventually employing about 33 people locally. The acting managing director and project manager, Mr Huang Tien-Zan, is a permanent resident of Australia who holds a master's degree in biological science and who was trained in the cultivation of spirulina in Japan and Taiwan.
Between May and November of this year, TAAU Australia plans to clear and level 10 ha of land for the construction of concrete ponds for spirulina cultivation, holding and recycling ponds, circulation and filtration equipment, a drying oven, a warehouse, an office and a workshop. By December, the company expects to be able to cultivate spirulina. I understand one harvest per week is the norm. Early next year, it will be processed into dry powder for export. A complete range of processing equipment will be installed at a Trade Development Zone site, including bottling and palleting.
The core business of this company is the manufacture of synthetic resins. However, the company has expanded into other fields, including the operation of schools and leisure facilities. In fact, the company is looking at a number of other projects and developments in the Northern Territory. We wish it well with the first stage of this project.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016