R&D funding proposal for wax flower industry

Local flower exporters are being urged to back a plan by the WA Department of Agriculture for private funding of research and development for the $60 million wax flower market.

The Department of Agriculture has funded R&D into new wax flower varieties for the past decade to the value of $160,000 a year.

Its work in developing new wax flower varieties, used by florists worldwide in floral arrangements, is seen as providing a major competitive advantage for the State’s wax flower growers.

But funding pressures threaten to cut the amount available for R&D.

According to 2003 WA Business News 40under40 winner and managing director of flower exporter WAFEX, Craig Musson, this would put the industry at risk of losing access to new varieties to the east coast and offshore.

He is urging his fellow growers to back an arrangement under which a research company would be developed to manage the funding and royalties derived from the new discoveries.

“Over the past two to three years we have positioned WA waxes basically as a grower of new varieties of wax flowers,” Mr Musson said.

“Because of our isolation and because of our high labour costs our competitive advantage is an ability to create new varieties.”

Department of Agriculture senior development officer floriculture Gerry Parlevliet said the department could not guarantee long-term research outcomes, and was therefore asking the industry to put in half the money required for the program, $80,000.

“There’s no indication that it [funding] will change in the short term but there is growing pressure on budgets,” he told WA Business News. “R&D funding is shrinking across the board, particularly in floriculture. We have to have external funding from external bodies.

“We want to be very realistic about the long-term nature of the work. If you are breeding new varieties it can take up to seven years to develop.”

Mr Parlevliet said discussions were taking place with WA’s wax flower growers – there are between 30 and 40 – and a suggested funding proposal and suitable administration structure to facilitate the research outcomes would be put to the growers in coming weeks.

Mr Musson said growers should not view the Department of Agriculture’s requirement for external funding as an additional cost imposition. Rather, he said, they should see the competitive advantages it would yield.

Presently, all Department of Agriculture research is available to growers across Australia, however Mr Musson said if a deal was struck between WA growers and the Department of Agriculture, WA growers would potentially have access to the new varieties first.

“There is an opportunity to have greater control in terms of who uses them and who grows them,” he said.