Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Building Chinese herbal medicine industry

In a first for Local Government in Australia, the City of Whittlesea is attempting to create a modern industry using some of the most ancient products in the world. Chinese Herbal Medicine has been used in China, Korea and other Asian Countries for thousands of years.

With 70 per cent of municipality classified as rural, Council saw an opportunity to create an alternative agricultural industry based on the growing demand for these medicines.

At the moment, there are very few Chinese herbs grown in Australia, despite rising domestic and international demand for these products. Around 5,000 species are used. These include annuals, perennials, vines, bushes and trees – ideal for a municipality with extensive rural areas.

The project team for the Chinese Herbal Medicine Farming Project is a partnership between Council, RMIT University, the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT), the Northern Area Consultative Committee and the local branch of the Victorian Farmers Federation.

Project Officer for Chinese Herbal Farming, Brian May, said that local herbalists in Victoria are keen to access locally grown herbs, particularly if they are grown organically.

“We are now working with a number of farmers who are doing commercial testing of growing Chinese Herbs,” he said. “The aim is to determine the commercial viability of growing plants used in Chinese herbal medicines in the City of Whittlesea and investigating methods of marketing, distribution and down stream processing.”

Brian May said the challenges in getting this industry off the ground are immense, so a team approach is needed.

“It involves dealing with issues in agriculture, Chinese medicine, propagating plants, biotechnology, chemical analysis and quality control,” he said. “This new agricultural industry has the potential to generate employment opportunities in farming, harvesting, processing and manufacturing with the potential for export in the future.”

Judy Clements, Victorian Farmers Federation President of the Whittlesea branch has a professional background of medical herbalism and is also a local farmer and believes there’s tremendous potential for the future.

“If we look at world trends, there’s a swing towards people seeking out herbal treatments,” she said. “That supply must come from somewhere and given the concern about the quality of herbs sourced from some parts of the world and Australia’s clean and green history, there’s tremendous potential for us to be involved in growing Chinese medicinal herbs. I think particularly in interface areas, such as the City of Whittlesea, where farming is changing dramatically, there’s a real opportunity for farmers to literally become involved in growing these herbs at a grass roots level.”

The project has been supported with funding from the Commonwealth Government under its Regional Assistance Program, administered by the Department of Transport and Regional Services.

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