Taiwan’s agricultural exports from January to last month reached a new high of NT$85.3 billion (US$2.7 billion), with sales of fruit surpassing last year’s total, Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said yesterday, adding that the council is eyeing new markets in Russia and the Middle East.
After last year’s agricultural exports hit a 20-year high, earning NT$164.6 billion, they made further gains in the first half of this year, Chen told a news conference in Taipei.
This year’s revenue to date came from exports of 1.16 million tonnes of produce, up 6.5 percent from the same period last year, he said, adding that rice, fresh fruit, tea, flowers and farmed fishery products were key items as exports rose 11.3 percent in the same period.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
Exports of fruit generated revenue of NT$4.23 billion from January to last month, surpassing revenue of NT$4.02 billion for all of last year, council data showed.
Wax apple sales increased 88 percent from the first half last year, while ponkans (79.5 percent), bananas (70.9 percent), and pineapples and guava (both 66.4 percent) also had significant gains, the data showed.
When export prices for fruit rise, domestic prices usually follow suit, which benefits growers, Chen said.
Exports of perch and tilapia in the first half rose 59 percent and 20.7 percent respectively, council data showed.
The US-China trade dispute has had a positive effect on Taiwan’s agricultural sector, he said.
China used to be the biggest exporter of tilapia to the US, but it has been affected by heavier tariffs imposed by the US, opening the door for Taiwan to benefit, he said, adding that the nation has also been able to import US soybeans more cheaply to make animal fodder.
Instead of relying on established markets in China, Japan and the US, the council plans to expand in the Middle East, Russia and Singapore, as well as countries targeted by the New Southbound Policy, he said.
Next month, it would hold a promotional event in Russia and in September it will set up a booth to promote Taiwanese produce at the HAO Mart in Singapore, the council said, adding that it is also mulling similar events in Saudi Arabia or Dubai in the fourth quarter.
It takes more than one week to ship products from Taiwan to Russia and double that to Middle Eastern countries, so cooling on ships is important to keep products fresh, COA Agriculture and Food Agency Director-General Hu Jong-i (胡忠一) said.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS