Taiwan and EU mutually recognize DUS report of Phalaenopsis for expanding orchid business
Release date：2019-04-26
The COA says that Taiwan has enjoyed global fame for its competence in orchid breeding. With its seedlings shipped to over 80 countries, Taiwan exported 73.93 million Phalaenopsis seedlings worldwide in 2018, generating USD 150 million. That accounted for 69% of the flower export value, making Phalaenopsis the country’s flagship agricultural product. Europe, on the other hand, is the largest consumer of orchids; its yearly Phalaenopsis consumption amounts to 150 million pots, and a large percentage of seedlings are from Taiwan, 20 million in 2018. Thus the European market is critical to Taiwan’s breeding industry.
The COA further indicates that plant variety rights are enforced under the “territorial principle”. Although the EU is Taiwan’s primary export destination, the present application process in the EU is both time-consuming and costly, resulting in only 156 cases of plant variety rights granted thus far. Now with the mutual recognition of DUS reports of Phalaenopsis in place, Taiwanese breeders only have to submit a DUS report valid in Taiwan when applying for variety rights with the EU, and the corresponding substantive review is much lessened. Throughout the process, only five flower plants are required to be sent to Naktuinbouw in the Netherlands for additional testing, cutting the review process to under a year. It effectively facilitates the cooperation on breeding and seedling production between Taiwan and the EU and is conducive to the bilateral trade in flowers.
The COA stresses that this case will be taken as a model to expedite the adoption of DUS reports of other orchid species between Taiwan and the EU as well as other countries. It will shorten the time for Taiwanese breeders to obtain rights to their fine varieties and strengthen their global positioning. While bringing about international business opportunities, it should also be seen as an important step forward in Taiwan’s path to building a global orchid supply center.
- Origin：Vegetable and Seedling Industry Division(Seed and Seedling Section)
- Refresh Date：2019-06-11