Onion study tour and attendance at the International Symposium on Edible Alliaceae, Beijing, April 2004 (VN03018)

This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

The International symposium on edible alliaceae in april of 2004 in Beijing, China was a fantastic opportunity for Australian industry specialists to liase with worldwide leaders in alliums. Providing a platform for information dissemination and collation, the symposium offered much in the way of technical developments within the world allium industry. Covering issues related to pest and disease control, genetically modified organisms, food issues and new research findings of various specialists around the globe.

The Australian allium industry had seen much change over the previous five year period in relation to the size and direction of the industry. Reduction in onion grower numbers, but generally stable production levels, meant that new levels of efficiency and greater knowledge of inputs had been realised. The access of up to date and relevant information was required for growers and industry to be able to keep up with demands placed on them by the market.

To be able to bring something back to the Australian industry, the study tour looked to access information which was applicable to the situation here in Australia. This mainly was concerned with research and findings on cultural techniques used at the time which assisted the growers in increasing productivity and efficiency. Another outcome which was a major part of the study tour, was the connection with overseas industry specialists. By having Australian industry players interact with overseas entities, relationships could be further developed to better the industry.

From the tour it was clear that China was looking for control of large segments of the world allium industry. With a firm grasp of the garlic market, China also looks to increase exports of onion to various world trade arenas. With a limited technology base, but a huge labour force, China were looking to access as much industry information to assist their entrance into these markets. Lacking information and quality input products had reduced China’s ability to compete internationally in the past. This was set to change with their pursuit of information.