Poppies are grown on a three-year crop rotation cycle. Sowing is in spring (September), flowering in early summer (December) and harvest in mid-summer (February). Following harvest, the poppy seed is separated and sold in a clean, natural condition for the spice trade.

Separated poppy straw, containing alkaloids, enters our extraction facility where the alkaloids are removed from the plant material by a warm solvent percolation system. The final product is called Concentrate of Poppy Straw.

Tasmanian Alkaloids produces two types of Concentrate of Poppy Straw: One has as its main component Morphine, the main component of the other is Thebaine.

Morphine is converted into Codeine. Thebaine is converted into a range of strong analgesics such as Oxycodone and Buprenorphine.

All active pharmaceutical ingredients produced at Tasmanian Alkaloids are manufactured to meet strictest international quality criteria, regulatory requirements and customers' specifications. Full technical support is available for all our products.

The process of market-driven continuous quality improvement, meshed with the principles of Good Manufacturing Practice, Process and Safety Management and Environmental Safety form the foundation of our operation.

We are confident that the products that leave our site are ready for use in pharmaceuticals on which doctors, nurses and patients can depend.

Details are also available on our Health and Safety Policy.