The output value of Taiwan’s “green” trade exports reached US$42.8 billion last year, accounting for 13.88 percent of total exports, according to government statistics.
The top five importers of Taiwan’s “green” products and services last year were China (US$9.98 billion), Hong Kong (US$6.15 billion), the US (US$5.89 billion), Japan (US$3.37 billion) and South Korea (US$2.01 billion), the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ statistics showed.
The “green economy” is on the rise globally, and Taiwan needs to seize the business opportunity amid the growing need for sustainable development, Bureau of Foreign Trade deputy director-general Cynthia Kiang (江文若) said at a “green” industry forum yesterday.
“With the growing need to restructure and upgrade Taiwan’s industrial base to reduce energy and resource consumption, Taiwan is moving in line with the global trend,” Kiang said in her opening remarks at the 2012 Green Summit in Taipei.
The government, in collaboration with the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (中經院) and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (工研院), initiated a three-year Green Trade Promotion Project last year to promote sustainable and environmentally -friendly products, services and resources.
“Green” trade can drive the country’s economy forward amid the global economic downturn, another ministry official said yesterday.
“The ‘green’ industry is certainly a rising star and can boost the economy in the long run,” Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝), director of the ministry’s Green Trade Project Office, told CNA on the sidelines of the Taiwan Green Classics Awards.
Taiwan plays a critical role in the supply chain in many fields around the world, Chen said, adding that many industries in Taiwan have adopted international standards.
Since new environmental standards lead to new business opportunities, the prospects for “green” trade are “very promising,” he said.
More than 60 “green” products and services from nearly 40 local companies were vying for the second annual Taiwan Green Classics Awards.
A total of 13 local companies won awards, including flat panel maker AU Optronics Corp (友達), consumer electronics maker BenQ Corp (明基), packaging company Taipei Pack Industries Corp (層層包裝事業), as well as LED light and lighting components suppliers Everlight Electronics Co (億光) and Nexgen Mediatech Inc (新視代).
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