The nation's agricultural exports last year increased by US$134 million from 2006, the Council of Agriculture said yesterday at an award ceremony, lauding the achievements of a dozen outstanding agricultural enterprises.
In the past few years, the main agricultural exports have been mainly butterfly orchids, eels, rice and tea, council Chairman Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said.
However, last year, in order to increase exports, the council expanded its list of products to focus on to include bananas, edamame soybeans and mangos, he said.
PHOTO: CNA
“Mango exports, which contributed US$9.82 million to export revenues last year, saw a 130 percent increase from 2006, while butterfly orchid exports grew 40.2 percent to US$49.6 million,” he said. “This shows that cooperation between businesses, farmers and the government can further improve the competitiveness of our products.”
Other potential golden gooses include the blood parrot, a type of ornamental fish cross-bred by a fish farmer in 1992, which is sold at up to NT$1,000 per fish in EU markets, more than 13 times its value here, said Chen Ruey-long (陳瑞榮), chief of the international marketing section at the council’s Department of International Affairs.
Asked about the threat posed by low-priced, Chinese products on the international market, Chen said Taiwanese goods target a separate market from Chinese exports.
“When it comes to cut-price competition, Taiwanese products do not enjoy a competitive edge,” Chin said. “However, we are clearly ahead when it comes to producing better quality, safer and more advanced goods [like new ornamental fish]. We are very careful with safety and quality control, such as the use of pesticides, which is currently poorly regulated in China. In the future, we plan to focus our international efforts in Europe, Japan and the US — countries with higher purchasing power that look for quality products.”
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it