Business Potential for Agricultural Biotechnology - Asian Productivity ...

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Summary of Findings
Council of Agriculture (COA). The Plant Variety and Seed Act, the most important law in agriculture,
was enactd by COA in 2003; by taking biotechnology into account, it opened the door to
a new era. Creation of some animal- and fish-related regulations and laws in this field has also
been ongoing. Today a fundamental framework has been constructed for the management of biotechnology
and biosafety in this country. In 2005, total investment in biotechnology has reached
TWD150 billion. 11.3% of companies related to the agricultural biotechnology business existed
before 1980. Sixteen percent were established during 1980–95. More than two-thirds (66.9%)
were created after 1996. This indicates that in Taiwan, the industry entered the era of agricultural
biotechnology only about a decade ago. Most companies (63.2%) are small in scale, with a staff
of less than 25.
Plant tissue culture is now not only a matured technology but has grown into a flourishing
industry. The orchid nursery in particular has become very reliant on tissue culture for the mass
production of healthy young plants. Commercial orchid varieties consisted of plant tissue culture
products in percentages as high as 51% and 85% in 1998 and 2002, respectively. The main
categories of orchids produced by tissue culture include Phalaenopsis, Oncidium, Cymbidium,
Dendrobium, and Paphiopedilum. In 2003, the total export value of tissue culture products
reached TWD272 million, 27% more than in 2002. About 95% of the export value came from
orchids, especially Phalaenopsis. In export, the major trading partners came from the U.S.
(30.1%), Japan (28.8%), South Korea (13.4%), the Netherlands (7.4%), and China (4.0%). The
number of nursery companies engaged in tissue culture has ranged between 100 and 120 during
the past decade.
In applied microbiology, biopesticide and biofertilizer are the two hot items in agriculture.
Several major companies, such as Yuen-Foongyu Paper Co., Tai-En Co., and Biontech Inc.,
have begun to produce and merchandise these products under their own brands. Although at
present the total value of this new industry is only about 0.5%–1% of the total traditional pesticide
market, it is growing at the rate of 10%–15% annually. Recently, a brand called Biowork
(Bacillus bustilis) has opened a new market in Japan, and some products of Streptomyces have
created an annual value of TWD10–20 million in the domestic market. Several fungi and bacteria
have been studied for their potential as biofertilizer, including the genera Pseudomonas,
Bacillus, Thiobacillus, Penicillium, and Aspergillus. There have been some good products
marketed by different companies that have been quite well accepted by farmers. Other products
of agricultural biotechnology with high market potential will likely result from genetic engineering,
including genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for producing specific bioproducts,
detection kits derived from recombinant DNA techniques, transgenic plants, and transgenic animals.
There has been a great effort to promote developments in this field of research, and much
research is ongoing. One of the important achievements is the transgenic papaya resistant to
papaya ringspot virus developed by Chung-Hsin University about 10 years ago, which passed
environmental risk assessment in 2000. It must still undergo food safety assessment before being
marketed. There are several transgenic crops, including rice, broccoli, potato, and tomato, now
in the process of environmental risk assessment at the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute
and the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center but not yet subject to food safety
assessment.
The Business Potential and Development Strategy for Agricultural Biotechnology Products
in the Republic of China
Taiwan is a subtropical mountainous island with a diverse climate ranging from tropical to
subfrigid. This diverse environment creates a large amount of biodiversity, which is a key factor
in the development of the country’s agricultural biotechnology industry. The analysis of the
overall development vision, objectives, and current status of the industry, agricultural resources,
and global competition with respect to agricultural biotechnology indicates that the development
of the Republic of China’s biotechnology industry should focus on subtropical agriculture. In the