The Ministry of Economic Affairs is planning to allocate NT$200 million (US$6.7 million) to help local food producers expand their overseas footprint, including in Asia and North America, to help them mitigate the impact of China’s import bans.
The subsidy program, dubbed “Taiwan Food Go to the World,” would provide guidance to food producers on marketing and finance to help them overcome difficulties due to import bans China imposed on Taiwanese food brands on Monday last week, the ministry said yesterday.
China is the third-largest export destination for local processed food companies, accounting for 20 percent of Taiwan’s overall processed food exports, the ministry said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The ministry is in talks with Redmart, Singapore’s biggest online grocery store, and Japanese online retailier Rakuten to sell Taiwanese food products, it said, adding that it hopes the initiative would give producers a boost as early as October.
The Council of Agriculture on Tuesday last week said the blacklisted companies include producers of tea leaves, dried fruits, honey, cocoa beans and vegetables, as well as the catches from about 700 Taiwanese fishing vessels.
China said the suspension was related to the companies’ compliance with a new customs registration system that it introduced in April last year.
However, several Taiwanese companies whose registrations on the system are up to date were also affected by the ban.
The government is promoting the sale of processed Taiwanese food products and agricultural products to other markets to help producers overcome the China trade challenges, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) told reporters.
The government would help manufacturers market their products mainly in 13 countries, including Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the US and Vietnam, she said.
Companies that market their products on foreign Web sites would receive a subsidy of NT$100,000 and those that hold promotion activities can apply for a subsidy of NT$200,000 for up to five events each, she added.
The ministry would organize sales promotion events in countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, and participate in food-related activities and exhibitions, she said.
The program would benefit about 2,000 manufacturers, adding an expected US$60 million to their combined revenue, she said.
The ministry hopes the program can help companies diversify their target markets and bring Taiwanese delicacies to more countries, she said.
Additional reporting by Lisa Wang
STEADY: Prices are to rebound following inventory rebuilding demand, TrendForce said, with Samsung Electronics Co further trimming capacity as it slashes DDR4 lines The contract prices of DRAM chips are to rise by as much as 18 percent sequentially this quarter — the first price upticks in about eight quarters — driven mainly by inventory rebuilding demand for DRAM chips used in mobile devices and PCs, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) projected yesterday. The price rebound is led by a quarterly increase of mobile DRAM chips, which are to climb between 13 percent and 18 percent quarter-on-quarter this quarter, which has not been seen since the fourth quarter of 2021, the Taipei-based market researcher predicted. Likewise, the price of mainstream PC DDR4 DRAM is expected to bounce
CHINA NOT A FRIEND: ‘Newsflash: Democracy is good for your businesses,’ US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said as she gave a speech at a national defense forum US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Saturday urged lawmakers, Silicon Valley and US allies to stop China from getting semiconductors and cutting-edge technologies key to national security. Speaking at an annual national defense forum in Simi Valley, California, Raimondo called Beijing “the biggest threat we’ve ever had” and stressed that “China is not our friend.” The world’s top two economies are locked in a fierce commercial and geopolitical rivalry, in which her department plays a leading role. In October, Raimondo unveiled a series of restrictions on the export of advanced chips to China, including those used in the development of artificial intelligence
A Hong Kong court postponed a court hearing on troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande Group’s (恆大集團) winding-up petition scheduled for yesterday until Jan. 29. Evergrande is trying to win support from its creditors for a plan to restructure more than US$300 billion in debt to stave off liquidation. The company’s lawyer told the court it was requesting an adjournment to “refine” its new debt restructuring plan. The Hong Kong High Court has postponed the hearing over Evergrande’s potential liquidation several times. Judge Linda Chan (陳靜芬) had said in October that yesterday’s hearing would be the last before a decision is handed down. Chan
SOLID FOUNDATION: Given its decades of expertise in megatronics, manufacturing and robotics, Japan has the wherewithal to create its own AI, Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp plans to help build an artificial intelligence (AI) tech-related ecosystem in Japan to meet demand in a country eager to gain an edge in this emerging technology. The US company will seek to partner with Japanese research organizations, companies and start-ups to build factories for AI, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday during opening remarks in a meeting with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura. The company is to set up an AI research laboratory, and invest in local start-ups and educate the public on using AI, Huang said. Huang earlier this week met with Japanese Prime