Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) efforts to boost Taiwan's exports to major European countries have paid off, with total exports to France, Russia and Italy for the first five months of this year increasing 20 percent over the figure for the same period last month, a BOFT official said yesterday.
According to statistics released by the BOFT, Taiwan's exports to Russia during the January-May period amounted to US$152.94 million, or an increase of 31.69 percent over the previous year's figure.
Among the export items that registered handsome growth were steel products, blank CDs, video games, and automobile spare parts and accessories.
During the same period, executives from Russian big-name Ryazan Machine Tool Plant and Stankoplast Holding Co also made business trips to Taiwan and placed orders for machine tools and plastic forming machinery to local manufacturers, the official said.
FRENCH CONNECTION
As for expanding Taiwan's market share in France, the official pointed out that shipments of Taiwan-made products to France between January and May totaled US$622.03 million, up 45.25 percent over the year-earlier level, with sound equipment, TV receivers, liquid crystal displays, integrated circuits, and wireless telephones posting phenomenal growth.
Meanwhile, representatives from 16 French enterprises, such as Sagem, GM Strassbourg and Valeo, as well as Resonnances Nature et Decouvertes, a large chain store, visited Taiwan to discuss purchasing deals at the BOFT's invitation, the official continued.
THE ITALIAN FACTOR
Turning to Italy, the official noted that domestic manufacturers shipped goods worth US$747.20 million to that market, representing an annual growth rate of 23.73 percent. Among the major export items which recorded significant growth were integrated circuits and related components, stainless steel bars, liquid crystal displays, TV receivers and printing circuits.
In addition, at the invitation of the BOFT, two big-name Italian manufacturers -- Abaco and Tefal -- dispatched their representatives to Taiwan to discuss purchasing deals, the official added.
ROOM TO GROW
Noting that there is still room for domestic manufacturers to expand their market share in Italy, the official said that the BOFT is planning to invite members of the Italian industrial and business sectors to come to Taiwan for further purchases of Taiwan-made products.
Besides, the BOFT is organizing a business promotion delegation that will travel to Italy in October to promote sales of telecommunication equipment to that country, the official said.
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