A poppy crop can only be grown in Tasmania by a farmer who has a contract with a manufacturing company and a licence from the Tasmanian Government. Contracts and licences are issued on an annual basis.
There are two manufacturing companies in the State licensed to extract the medicinal products from the poppy straw after harvesting. They are Tasmanian Alkaloids Pty Ltd and GlaxoSmithKline Australia.
The crop is grown on the better soils of the north west coast, north east coast, the midlands, east coast, Derwent Valley and south-east areas.
Poppies complement a range of crops in the farm rotation and when grown well, will yield around 2.5 tonnes per hectare. There are, on average, 1000 growers cultivating about 13,000 hectares of poppies annually in Tasmania.
For new growers looking to break into the industry, the first point of contact is directly to either of the two processing companies, Tasmanian Alkaloids Pty Ltd or GlaxoSmithKline Australia.
