News

Third poppy player update

Release date: 16 December 2005

TPI Enterprises has lodged a development application with the Northern Midlands Council to construct the first phase of its processing facility at Longford in northern Tasmania.

Pending council approval, the first stage of the development is expected to be completed by April 2006. Further expansion will follow a planned program over the next 3-5 years.

TPI Enterprises is an Australian owned and operated company that is entering the international opiates industry as the nation’s third manufacturer of Concentrate of Poppy Straw (CPS).

As part of TPI’s market entry plan, trial crops of Thebaine and Morphine are currently being grown in north east Tasmania and the construction of a production facility marks a significant milestone in TPI’s growth strategy.

In November, TPI received an AusIndustry award from the Commonwealth Government “for innovation in developing alternative Thebaine poppies and enhanced extraction techniques”.

TPI Director Jarrod Ritchie said the Company had identified an extraction bottleneck in Thebaine supply and increasing overseas demand for a third Australian player.

“The intention is to grow Tasmania’s share of the international market for the supply of Thebaine,” Mr Ritchie said.

“With an eco-friendly, efficient extraction and purification manufacturing process, TPI will be a world leader in Concentrate of Poppy Straw (CPS) supply for quality and price.”

Mr Ritchie said the entrance of TPI in the Australian industry will result in a resurgence of the poppy growing industry in Tasmania.