Taiwan is working to maintain its leadership in orchid cultivation and development by strengthening public, private and academic sector collaboration.
In January, a new facility aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of the nation’s orchid industry was inaugurated in the southern city of Tainan. The Taiwan Orchid Varieties Commercial Center (TOVCC) evaluates the market potential of new strains created by local growers and research institutes. It also assists producers in acquiring international certification for the flowers and houses a genetic database of orchid species.
Jointly funded by Tainan City Government and the Agriculture and Food Agency under the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA), the center is the latest step in government efforts to bolster public, private and academic sector collaboration in orchid development and sales promotion. It is based at the 175-hectare Taiwan Orchid Plantation (TOP), a cluster of 66 enterprises in Tainan’s Houbi District, and staffed by employees of TOP-based industry group Taiwan Orchid Growers Association (TOGA). Assessments of new varieties are conducted in consultation with experts at leading commercial and research organizations in the region, including the Agriculture Business Division of state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp., National Cheng Kung University and National Chiayi University (NCYU).
According to TOGA Secretary-General Ahby Tseng (曾俊弼), the center is a one-stop shop for services spanning intellectual property protection, information management, international marketing and product testing. “It also helps boost our competitiveness by offering after-sales and technical support to buyers,” he said.
A locally grown Paphiopedilum, or lady’s slipper, orchid (Photo courtesy of Taiwan Orchid Growers Associatio)
Signature Blossom
Orchids are the crown jewel of the nation’s floriculture industry, accounting for roughly a third of the sector in terms of production value. About 90 percent of the orchids grown in Taiwan are destined for export, with overseas shipments totaling US$178.3 million last year, TOGA statistics showed.
Phalaenopsis, or moth, orchids are the mainstay of Taiwan producers. This genus made up nearly 80 percent of all exports in 2017 at US$139.9 million. Tseng said that moth orchids dominate the sector owing to long lifespans of up to four months and broad-based international appeal resulting from their wide diversity of shapes and colors.
Production efficiency is another crucial factor in their popularity among domestic growers. According to Tony Huang (黃志豐), chief executive officer of TOP resident Yusa Farm Co., the flowering period of Phalaenopsis varieties is more easily calculated and controlled than other species such as Dendrobium, Oncidium and Paphiopedilum orchids. This makes it easier to execute large-volume orders from overseas, a crucial advantage in an industry where the production process takes up to four years, he said.
Orchids begin life not on a farm but in a lab as tissue-cultured seedlings in glass flasks. As they mature, the flowers progress to various soft pot phases of their life cycle. They are shipped as large seedlings and complete the blooming stage after arriving in their destination market.
In Taiwan, the yearslong cultivation work is typically split among several growers specializing in one or more steps of the process. While promoting efficiency and innovation, this division of labor necessitates extensive cooperation. TOP was established to strengthen communication among industry participants and provide a focal point for sector development.
“Growers came from across Tainan and around the country to form this cluster,” said Huang, who heads the TOP Growers Association founded last year. “They’re linked by collaboration rather than competition.”
Shen Rong-show, head of the Department of Horticultural Science at National Chiayi University in southern Taiwan, inspects orchid seed pods in one of the tertiary institution’s greenhouses. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
Industry Hub
Boasting a complete supply chain and extensive cultivation resources, TOP is one of the world’s foremost moth orchid production centers. Fully operational since 2012, it comprises about a quarter of the total orchid growing area in Taiwan. Residents can rent well-equipped, computer-controlled greenhouses or apply for low-interest loans to construct such facilities. International business exchange events are regularly staged at the site, with the TOVCC assuming responsibility for organizing these activities since its launch.
According to Huang, the lack of rivalry between TOP growers is also due to their diverse market orientations. Producers typically develop offerings with a specific region in mind since consumers in the U.S., Japan, the EU and Southeast Asia—Taiwan’s top export regions, in that order—favor products with different colors, shapes and sizes. In Japan, for instance, large white flowers with straight stems are preferred, while Western buyers tend to opt for more vibrant varieties.
Until 2006, Japan was the primary destination for Taiwan’s exports. That changed following a decision by U.S. regulators the previous year to allow imports of Taiwan Phalaenopsis orchid seedlings potted in growing mediums. Prior to this, seedlings had to be cleaned before shipping to avoid transmission of plant diseases, resulting in poor survival rates. “Distribution methods and packing conditions are crucial factors in the flower business,” Huang said, pointing to their impact in other areas like plant quality and recovery time after transport.
Sales took off following the 2005 ruling and today Taiwan accounts for about 80 percent of U.S. orchid imports, according to TOGA. While local growers enjoy a leading position in this key market, they are coming under increasing pressure from Dutch producers. The European country’s introduction of advanced automation technology has given it a crucial edge in the global floriculture industry, said Shen Rong-show (沈榮壽), head of the Department of Horticultural Science at NCYU. These systems boost production output while lowering labor and other costs.
Tissue-cultured orchid seedlings are cultivated in glass flasks at the government-operated Floriculture Research Center in western Taiwan’s Yunlin County. (Photo by Chen Mei-ling)
To maintain the competitiveness of one of the nation’s top agricultural exports, Taiwan’s public and private sectors have focused on further strengthening industry collaboration and innovation. The full impacts of these measures, such as the establishment of the TOVCC, are yet to be felt, but the early signs are positive. Though orchid shipments remain below their peak of almost US$183.5 million in 2014, they registered year-on-year growth of 3.2 percent in 2017.
Unique Varieties
While Taiwan is playing catch-up on automation, it remains the global leader in creating new varieties. At the opening ceremony for the TOVCC Jan. 24, Tainan Acting Mayor Li Men-yen (李孟諺) noted that more than 2,000 Taiwan-developed orchid species are available in foreign markets, about five times the number from the Netherlands.
This commitment to concocting unique offerings has its roots in the formation of the industry. Taiwan’s orchid sector evolved out of the work of hobby growers in the 1970s who started collecting orchid species for crossbreeding and organizing clubs to exchange knowledge and experiences. While the practice has since been commercialized, raising novel varieties and sharing information remain hallmarks of the field in Taiwan.
Shen leads a COA-supported team of experts and specialists offering on-site services to orchid growers in such areas as biotech applications, disease and pest control, greenhouse management, plant nutrition and tissue culture techniques. Other tertiary institutions with horticulture departments such as National Taiwan University in Taipei City as well as National Chung Hsing University and National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in central and southern Taiwan, respectively, similarly support sector development through conducting business consultation, research and talent cultivation programs. “This cooperation among the academic, government and business sectors is essential if the industry is to fulfill its potential,” Shen said.
To strengthen these links, the local government-overseen TOP will soon come under the management of the COA’s Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park in southern Taiwan. The administrative change is part of central government efforts to integrate clusters nationwide toward the establishment of a comprehensive high-tech agricultural supply chain.
A Yusa Farm Co. employee examines orchid seedlings growing in soft pots. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
New Horizons
The main platform for showcasing the nation’s signature products and new varieties is the Taiwan International Orchid Show (TIOS). Launched in 1998, the annual event is one of the largest of its kind alongside the Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival in Tokyo and the triennial World Orchid Conference, which central Taiwan’s Taichung City is scheduled to host in 2020.
This year’s TIOS was held over 11 days in March at TOP and drew more than 200,000 visitors and 54 buyers from 18 countries and territories. The show typically achieves overseas orders of up to NT$10 billion (US$333.3 million) satisfied by local vendors over the following three to five years, according to organizer TOGA.
TIOS also plays an important role in promoting export market diversification. Among the buyers in attendance at the 2018 event were representatives of five companies accounting for nearly 80 percent of the orchid market in Vietnam. Huang’s Yusa Farm is one of several local growers eyeing rising demand for Phalaenopsis varieties in the Southeast Asian country, already the fourth largest destination for Taiwan’s orchids, and plans to set up production lines in the nation. “Vietnamese consumers have a great appreciation for flowers,” he said. “And we’ve got the technical expertise to offer top-quality products.”
Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw