The government will help the private sector tap the Russian and Indian markets, where consumption and imports are rapidly growing, the Bureau of Foreign Trade said yesterday.
The bureau will sponsor a series of workshops next month to help companies and businesspeople better understand market trends and the business culture in Russia and India. The bureau said the workshops would help companies who hope to make inroads into these two growing markets.
Consumption has grown quickly in Russia over the past year, spurred by soaring international oil prices that have led to a significant rise in the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Russia is the world’s second-largest exporter of crude oil and the largest exporter of natural gas.
Last year, Russia’s two-way trade amounted to US$552.2 billion, with a trade surplus of US$152.8 billion. Of the country’s imports, machinery and equipment accounted for about 50 percent, the bureau said.
“Businessmen can cash in on the Russian machinery market as a lot of machinery and related equipment made in Taiwan are highly competitive on the international market,” a bureau official said.
The bureau also said India was a strong market worth exploring.
India’s huge population and rich natural resources combined with flourishing industrial development in recent years make it a key market, the bureau said.
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