The US for the first time became Taiwan’s largest market for exports of agricultural products, with outbound shipments in the first quarter surging 33.3 percent to US$23.2 million from a year earlier, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
The council’s latest report showed that the top five importers of Taiwanese agricultural produce, totaling 450,000 tonnes, in the first three months of this year were, in descending order, the US, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
China was the largest importer of Taiwanese produce from 2013 to last year. However, its share of Taiwanese agricultural exports fell to 14.4 percent in the first quarter of this year from 21.1 percent a year earlier.
Photo: AFP
While first-quarter exports of agricultural produce in volume terms dropped 11.6 percent from a year earlier, total export value, adjusted for inflation, was similar to the same period last year, the council said.
First-quarter exports to the US jumped 48.7 percent to 75,742 tonnes from a year earlier, council data showed.
In particular, exports to the US of soybeans, mushrooms, fresh and refrigerated produce, honey, Oncidium flexuosum orchids, moth orchids, sea bass and mackerel all posted significant growth, the council said.
Outbound shipments of agricultural products used in the hand-shaken beverage industry, such as tea leaves, tapioca flour, and pineapple and mango juices also saw sharp growth, it said.
Exports of pineapple juice jumped 440.5 percent to 72 tonnes, while exports of mango juice surged 191.6 percent to 280 tonnes, it added.
Meanwhile, exports to Japan rose 16.6 percent to US$2.07 million in the first three months of this year, council data showed.
The council expects agricultural exports in the first half of the year to follow the trend in the first quarter, COA International Division Director Lin Chia-jung (林家榮) said, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect logistics and transportation.
An upcoming trade initiative meeting with the US should further flesh out bilateral trade regulations, such as establishing a science and risk-based standard, and benefit bilateral agricultural trade, he added.
Lin was referring to the talks on the Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st Century Trade, set to be held in Washington at the end of this month.
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
CAUTION URGED: Xiaohongshu and Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — are tools the Chinese government uses for its ‘united front’ propaganda, the MAC said Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) yesterday urged people who use Chinese social media platforms to be cautious of being influenced by Beijing’s “united front” propaganda and undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty. Chiu made the remarks in response to queries about Chinese academic Zhang Weiwei (張維為) saying that as young Taiwanese are fond of interacting on Chinese app Xiaohongshu (小紅書, known as RedNote in English), “after unification with China, it would be easier to govern Taiwan than Hong Kong.” Zhang is professor of international relations at Shanghai’s Fudan University and director of its China Institute. When giving a speech at China’s Wuhan
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations