Taiwan and Hungary are to work together to boost exports of their agricultural products in two categories, the Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) said on Saturday.
Under an agreement reached at a meeting, Hungary is to serve as a transit point for Taiwan’s orchid exports to the European market, agency Director-General Chen Chien-pin (陳建斌) said.
In return, Taiwan is to buy goose products from Hungary to supplement its domestic supply, which has been affected by an outbreak of avian flu at goose farms this year, Chen said.
Since the start of the year, Taiwan has culled thousands of geese in an effort of curb the spread of avian flu, which in turn has resulted in a shortage of goose on the domestic market and pushed up prices.
Last year, Taiwan imported 205 tonnes of goose from Hungary, according to statistics from the Council of Agriculture, which supervises the agency’s operations.
Hungary imported more than US$120 million worth of Phalaenopsis orchid buds and related products from Taiwan, council data show.
Under the new cooperation agreement, Hungary would become a stepping stone for Taiwan’s agricultural products to enter the European market, while Taiwan is to serve as a gateway for Hungary’s agricultural products to the Asian market, Chen said.
He said the two sides are hoping to expand their cooperation to agricultural investments, agricultural raw materials and fresh food trade.
Meanwhile, Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been considering ways to help Taiwanese farmers export their products.
In a meeting on Saturday with agriculture, health and environmental officials, Tsai said there were many things that needed to be done to promote agricultural innovation in Taiwan and increase farmers’ incomes, Lin said.
One of Tsai’s suggestions was to create a company like New Zealand’s Zespri International to help export Taiwanese agricultural products, Lin said.
It is not the first time that Tsai has put forward such an idea.
During her visits to farms in Chiayi in March, she had also proposed establishing an agricultural export management company that would be backed by the government and run by the private sector, to coordinate Taiwan’s exports.
Zespri International, owned by thousands of kiwifruit growers, is the world’s largest marketer of kiwifruit, shipping to more than 50 countries and accounting for 30 percent of the global kiwi market.
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